Ban smoking now
Emery Davis, ewdavis@smu.edu
Posted: 2/16/07
Attention all smokers and non-smokers:
53,000 Americans die every year from first- or second-hand smoke. That
should say something about smoking in public places. It shouldn't be
permitted.
In a Jan. 31 poll, two-thirds of Texans
supported a statewide ban on smoking in public places. Sixty-nine
percent of those surveyed said the rights of non-smokers to
"breathe clean air" outweigh those of smokers to smoke and
restaurant owners to permit it. We should all breathe a sigh of
relief.
The health hazards posed to those who
don't smoke and are exposed to tobacco's 60 known carcinogens are
devastatingly high. In 2006, the U.S. surgeon general reported 126
million non-smokers were exposed to tobacco hazards.
That smokers still enjoy cigarettes at
others' expense in states including Texas is outrageous. Seventeen
states have enacted bans, but many don't enforce them. As of April
2006, smoking was banned in Arkansas in "most public places"
with some bars and businesses exempt. In January 2006, Chicago banned
smoking in most public places, but bars and restaurants with bars are
exempt until July 1, 2008. Cities and states like these show support
for a nationwide effort to ban smoking but skirt the issue by delaying
full prohibition. What's the point in waiting another year or so?
According to estimates by California health officials, that's another
3,400 deaths due to lung cancer for non-smokers alone.
Dallas is among the cities reluctant to
fully enact these laws. Most popular SMU bars don't ban smoking, which
is why non-smoking students tend to reek in their classes on Friday.
Restaurants with bars allow smokers to light up when people around
them are trying to eat. Not only is this a problem for all adults
nationwide-it's an issue for young people who have made the healthy
decision not to smoke.
If all states enact smoke-free laws,
restaurants and bars will be on the same playing field. The typical
consumer isn't going to avoid going out just because he or she can't
smoke indoors. A survey on the impact of New York City's smoking ban
confirms that 96 percent of diners surveyed were eating out the same
amount or more as a result of the smoke-free restaurant law.
Smoking isn't "cool" like it
used to be. Besides the fact that smoking looks unattractive, exposing
non-smokers to serious health hazards just to get a buzz is immoral.
This original article can be fournd online
at:
http://media.www.smudailycampus.com/media/storage/paper949/news/
2007/02/16/Opinion/Ban-Smoking.Now-2724630.shtml
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