This month, Syracuse University will hold its first regular-session semester with a campus ban on the use of tobacco products. The university joins an ever-growing list of institutions on a mission to cut out the nation’s leading preventable cause of premature death and disability from their campuses, but not everyone sees this as a positive step.

It’s safe to say that most every smoker at SU knows smoking is unhealthy, but some who oppose the ban cite feelings of targeted discrimination against smokers by the university. The ban on every type of tobacco product across the entire campus is a glaring oversight highlighting SU’s rule-makers as conservative and frankly, U.S.-centric.

“I do not believe it is the University’s right to tell me that I can’t smoke, but I do believe that it is their right to make rules about their property,” says Isabella Laurel, a junior sociology student from the Philippines.

She cited her experiences as an international student when discussing the populations she felt the ban affects most.

“By definition [the ban] targets smokers, and as a result I feel it affects more internationals. The stigma of smoking only exists to the extent that it does in America,” Laurel said. “Many of the countries in the rest of the world do not have as heavy a negative perception on smoking.”

Al Jazeera’s infographics about tobacco use around the world show that smoking habits correlate strongly with national wealth. While Western nations like the U.S. are cutting down their tobacco consumption, Eastern and African developing countries are increasing theirs. Despite our cultural taboo on smoking, the US frequently ranks dead-center in lists of biggest tobacco consuming nations.

Tourist hotspots like amusement parks have taken inclusivity into consideration when designing their properties. They maintain the dignity of smokers, even though their parks are more suited for child guests than a university setting. The addition of designated smoking areas protects their staff and patrons from prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke – without treating smokers like pariahs.

SU’s current policy states that there will not be any smoking areas on campus. The ban will extend in phases to the university’s other properties, like the Carrier Dome and the Sheraton, by 2017. SU cites a history of noncompliance at other locations as their reason for not including smoking areas, but says enforcement of the policy will rely on ‘faculty, staff, student, and alumni volunteers.’ Instead of a campus-wide ban on tobacco, a smoking area compromise deserves recognition as an alternative option.

Logistically, a campus-wide smoking ban would be near impossible to enforce on all 708 acres of university property without these “volunteers.” A lack of a dedicated group of “volunteers” would make the Department of Public Safety the University’s last resort for enforcement when resources are already stretched thin. Cutbacks on DPS courtesies like Shuttle-U-Home and Safety Escort services make it clear that the university cannot afford to police smokers.

“I will just probably continue smoking off campus, and sneak a couple on campus when I can,” Laurel said.
With 10 percent of its student body from abroad, it is clear that the University needs to adjust its smoking policies for the world audience it relies on.

Zhané Souter is a senior broadcast journalism major and forensic science minor. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at zisouter@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @zhanesouter.

Published on September 8, 2015 at 11:33 pm