Editor,
As a smoker, the debate over eliminating smoking on campus seems almost entirely one-sided, so I thought I would throw in my opinion.
I would like to comment on the smokers that showed up at the forum last Thursday. It was certainly out of line for them to do what they did, and I'm sure that most people will agree with that. However, I see that what they did was more an act of frustration than anything else. It's hard to deal with the sheer amount of flak you get from all sides when you like to smoke. Yes, we know it is bad for us - more than you would think - but we like it, and they are our bodies, so we figure we can do as we like with them.
So, when presented with a forum aimed specifically to take away something that we like to do, it is understandable that we can get a little annoyed. However, that doesn't give us the right to intentionally disrupt and act like kids. So, on behalf of smokers, I apologize.
Secondhand smoke, of course, is an issue and the chief concern among nonsmokers. I agree with not allowing smoking indoors, where the smoke has nowhere else to go but into other people's lungs. However, outside, the smoke dissipates very quickly, and you have plenty of room to avoid smokers if you would like to. Really, you are absorbing far more pollutants in the air from the traffic on Central Avenue and Lomas Boulevard than from the few smokers you might pass in any given day.
I'd like to bring up the issue of the financial cost that smokers impose medically and economically on UNM. Reuben Estrada, in Monday's issue of the Daily Lobo, stated that in 2004 it cost the United States $6 billion to treat the effects of secondhand smoke. While this number seems like a lot, the Center for Disease Control found that it cost the United States $75 billion in 2003 to treat obesity. Also, since 2004, laws have tightened regarding smoking indoors, where secondhand smoke is a real problem, meaning that the cause of much of that cost has been mitigated. UNM itself isn't spending its money on medical costs - that's an insurance company problem. Academic and medical expenses are different animals, so eliminating smoking on campus will not bring your tuition down.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
If it is the smell that you don't like, I don't know what to tell you. I don't especially like the smell of Axe body spray and other assorted products, and I hate the sound of people chewing gum in class, but I don't look to ban them.
Mike Von Dreele
UNM student
