Editor,
Over the past few months, there has been a lot of talk about banning smoking outdoors. Not only am I referring to the proposal to ban it from campus, but some cities have actually made it illegal to smoke outside, too. While I am not a smoker, I feel as though someone should speak up. Isn't this irrational?
The claim that smoking outdoors is detrimental to the health of people around it may have some merit. In fact, I'm not contesting that. What I am saying, though, is that when it comes to health concerns and secondhand pollutants, smoking should be the least of our worries. If smoking is going to be banned due to the effects on health, then we have to ban cars.
Think about it - cars emit much more pollution than smoke, and they are all around us. To illustrate it simply, you can smoke a cigarette in a garage and not die, but running your car will ultimately cause carbon monoxide poisoning and death. I would argue that there have been more health issues due to car emissions than smoke, although the data is not readily available. I would point to common sense as my proof.
Can smoking cigarettes cause an entire city to wear masks due to air pollution? Would anyone ever run a car in a closed space?
It's easy to point a finger at smoking and say, "Hey, you're hurting innocent people." It's easy to ban it, because we do not need smoking. So, I ask the question, do we need cars?
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We didn't used to have automatic vehicles. In fact, they are a luxury when it comes down to it. People enjoy driving cars - it's easy, and it's part of our lives, so no one is going to ban cars due to the health effects. But people enjoy smoking, too. It's relaxing and part of their lives.
Let's be realistic. To say that smoking outside, where the smoke is free to dissipate into the entire atmosphere, infringes upon other people's right to breathe fresh air is not only inaccurate - since the air is already polluted by vehicles - but also a step toward a restrictive society. My advice to those who are concerned about their health is burn a few extra calories and walk around.
Sean Fitzpatrick
UNM student
