At university, when Monil Salvi feels a nicotine craving coming on, he just steps out of the library or class that he is in and walks the metre or three to the nearest smoking area. His cigarette is in his mouth well before he has reached his destination, ready to be lit and puffed away. The “Report on smoke-free policies in Australia” released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), states that tobacco use is the leading cause of death and disease in Australia. Each year nearly 20,000 Australians die and more than 150,000 are hospitalized due to tobacco-related illnesses.
Smoking is a prevalent factor on most university campuses though, whether it is in Australia or other parts of the world. A comprehensive smoking ban concerning smoke-free enclosed public places has been enforced in Queensland since 2006. The law states that smoking is prohibited in all pubs, clubs, restaurants and workplaces, commercial outdoor eating and drinking areas, outdoor public places, and within 4 meters of non-residential building entrances.
In taking a walk down the Griffith University Gold Coast campus it is hard to miss the designated smoking areas, they’re usually occupied or have cafes and vending machines close by. You can smell the bitter taste of nicotine whiff past you on your way to class and sometimes it gives you company on your route if the smoker is in motion and headed your way. The Griffith smoking policy states that smoking is prohibited in buildings or parts of buildings under the University's control, in any outdoor area of a food outlet, or any outdoor area where food and drink is provided, in University vehicles, within 5 metres of air intakes, external doors, windows and ventilation louvres, and in any other areas so designated from time to time by the University.
Monil who is of Indian origin has been smoking on and off for 7 years, he has tried innumerable times to give up smoking and finds it highly unlikely that he will ever be able to overcome his addiction. According to section six of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA), 2003, sale of tobacco products to/by minors and within 100 yards of educational institutions is banned within India and any persons flouting this law are subject to being fined or even taken before a magistrate. Post landing in Australia though, Monil doesn’t feel guilty to light up on campus and finds it convenient for smokers like him.
Ben Doyle on the other hand has not only managed to kick the habit but refuses to be sucked in to it again. He thinks that the designated smoking areas means that everybody wins and smokers still have the freedom to smoke without ruffling any feathers. Ben compares smoking to an addiction to junk food and alcohol which are also sold on campus and believes that as adults, university students have the capacity to make up their minds about these things. “If you eliminate one vice then you must eliminate the others”, he says.
While the facts are irrefutable and proven that smoking is hazardous and while people are aware of the risks of passive smoking or inhaling environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), not much is being done to reduce the risks of either. In spite of smoking bans in public places like bus stops and minors who smoke being punishable by law, very little action is being taken in this area.
The Auckland University in New Zealand has become a smoke-free campus for both staff and students as of 1 January 2010. The ban covers all buildings and land owned by the Auckland University. However the ban does not include any public areas like roads and footpaths surrounding the university.
Chandigarh which is the first planned city in India became a smoke-free city on 15 July 2007. Smoking is banned in all establishments and public places as is the sale of nicotine near educational institutions. Smoking is allowed in the privacy of one’s home or vehicle. Tourists and citizens alike appreciate the clean, smoke free city.
A growing number of universities in America are also becoming more concerned about the health and safety of their students and staff and are implementing stricter non-smoking policies. In 2007 the Gainesville State College University became a smoke-free campus with a design to protect non-smokers from walking in and out of smoke and/or being surrounded by strewn cigarette butts on campus.
Hailing from Egypt and having done her former education in Kuwait and then USA, Doha Seif is now a post-grad student at Griffith. A smoker herself, she is not new to the idea of smoking on campus. At her former University of Minnesota smoking was restricted to select areas on campus. Taking a drag off her cigarette she extrapolated that while she was glad there is no ban on smoking on campus she was a bit taken aback that tobacco was sold at the university book store – ‘Book Mark’. “The cigarettes sold on campus are cheaper than most gas stations”, she said. Standing tall at a little over 155 cms Doha has never had to show proof of age or any form of id on campus. Starting off as a social habit, she now consumes a pack a day and finds it convenient that she doesn’t need to walk a kilometer or so to have a cigarette.
Griffith however does conduct a quit smoking training session that is made available to its students in groups of 10-20 and is offered on application. The program promises continual support mechanisms to those who are trying to quit.
With 41 buildings and thousands of students enrolled on its Gold Coast campus, Griffith has 9 official designated non-smoking areas.
Ben and Doha and Monil represent a tiny fraction of the population on campus, they all stem from different backgrounds and walks of life, they all have cigarettes in common, as do you.
The 2006 U.S. Surgeon General’s report states that there is no risk-free level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke causes lung cancer, heart disease, and acute respiratory effects. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every 6.5 seconds a current or former smoker dies.
So what is the bottom line then? If it is too ambitious to imagine a smoke-free world or a smoke-free Australia, would it be too much to expect that the 18 year old undergraduate from Germany, who has never smoked and hates cigarettes could be spared the horror of walking in to a cloud of smoke when she enters university, or sits out on a bench to have her healthy salad for lunch?
The Long Road Home
One of the things I love most about people is the stories they have to tell, stories or resilience and excess, grandeur and accomplishment. I love people even more when they surprise me. When I first met Ben Doyle I didn’t think he would amaze me. And yet I stand here as a witness to a life that has been lived carefree and wild, flowing subconsciously and vibrantly towards its purpose.
We have all had ridiculous ideas of who we wanted to be when we were kids. I remember wanting to be a cobbler or a fisherwoman or a pilot – anything that seemed simple and awe-filled. As the years progressed and I was bogged down with concepts of career choices and future stability I started to lose my wandering meandering soul. I learned to trade fantasy for a corporate persona.
I envy Ben because while coming to a strange continent all alone can be perceived as daunting, travelling to various others with no set plan, no agreed propaganda ought definitely to be termed brave. As the conversation flowed, he went on to modestly relay his forays into the world of cold streets and unfamiliar faces. With each new place he talked about his eyes lit up reliving those parts of his past that have etched who he is today. Ben set out into the big wide world at age 21 wandering across the UK, Ireland and Canada only to return home three years later with memoirs of his expeditions and a book that’s waiting to be published.
While in transit and before he stumbled upon his potential to be a writer, he worked odd jobs and strange jobs and found ways to continue fuelling his passion for travel and new experiences. Ben has officially and unofficially at some point in his life worked as an - Online Travel Agent, Porter, Bartender, Buyer at a Record Store, Receptionist, Sperm Donor, Waiter, Tree planter, Pokey Machine Attendant, Café supervisor, delivered pamphlets, worked at a fish n chips store and so on. It was only when a mate suggested that his memoirs made for an interesting read that he came up with the idea for his book titled Sex, Drugs and the Last Tube Home (A young Australians journey on the cold streets of London).
The book led to him realising his penchant for writing which fuelled his return to the world of grades and University campuses after a 7 year hiatus. Ben is back and raring to go and by the looks of it he seems to be acing his Postgraduate Certificate in Journalism and Mass Communication.
The path to your dreams may never be straightforward. It may not bring you the quickest or the most favourable results. But the next time you’re stuck in a rut and don’t know where you’re headed, look again.
We have all had ridiculous ideas of who we wanted to be when we were kids. I remember wanting to be a cobbler or a fisherwoman or a pilot – anything that seemed simple and awe-filled. As the years progressed and I was bogged down with concepts of career choices and future stability I started to lose my wandering meandering soul. I learned to trade fantasy for a corporate persona.
I envy Ben because while coming to a strange continent all alone can be perceived as daunting, travelling to various others with no set plan, no agreed propaganda ought definitely to be termed brave. As the conversation flowed, he went on to modestly relay his forays into the world of cold streets and unfamiliar faces. With each new place he talked about his eyes lit up reliving those parts of his past that have etched who he is today. Ben set out into the big wide world at age 21 wandering across the UK, Ireland and Canada only to return home three years later with memoirs of his expeditions and a book that’s waiting to be published.
While in transit and before he stumbled upon his potential to be a writer, he worked odd jobs and strange jobs and found ways to continue fuelling his passion for travel and new experiences. Ben has officially and unofficially at some point in his life worked as an - Online Travel Agent, Porter, Bartender, Buyer at a Record Store, Receptionist, Sperm Donor, Waiter, Tree planter, Pokey Machine Attendant, Café supervisor, delivered pamphlets, worked at a fish n chips store and so on. It was only when a mate suggested that his memoirs made for an interesting read that he came up with the idea for his book titled Sex, Drugs and the Last Tube Home (A young Australians journey on the cold streets of London).
The book led to him realising his penchant for writing which fuelled his return to the world of grades and University campuses after a 7 year hiatus. Ben is back and raring to go and by the looks of it he seems to be acing his Postgraduate Certificate in Journalism and Mass Communication.
The path to your dreams may never be straightforward. It may not bring you the quickest or the most favourable results. But the next time you’re stuck in a rut and don’t know where you’re headed, look again.
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