As we move into the rainy and colder months the increase in smokers in doorways is on the rise. Wednesday, I walked through 10 people under the arch on the front steps of Woodburn Hall. All were smoking. It is ridiculous to think that these people will stand in a “designated area” in inclement weather. They will continue to congregate in doorways. Do those who propose designated areas think that we should spend our money building shelters for smokers so they don’t have to deal with the weather? Will there be designated areas at every building, or will smokers have to walk to them? I am a former smoker and I am telling you that when it’s cold and raining people will be standing in the doorway. Without the ban, there will not be a change. The simple fact is that smoking is bad for you and for those around you. A ban is the right approach. Staff and Alumna ‘01

I would say either ban smoking campus wide or designate certain areas on a campus where smokers are allowed to smoke (similar to areas in airports).

Since graduating from WVU in the late 1980s, I’m surprised to see how little has changed in Morgantown with respect to smoking. I have lived on the West Coast of the US, in Europe, and in Canada. I was back in Morgantown last year, and couldn’t believe that bars still allowed smoking. All the other places I have lived have put in place bans on smoking, years ago.

The smoking staff/students should be provided with support to help them stop smoking, including school-sponsored programs involving scientifically-proven smoking cessation methods (e.g., nicotine patch). There are surely models to follow at universities who’ve “been there, done that”. Be creative and use Google to gather the info.

Given the caliber of WVU as a university (and the fact that nothing has been done since the 1990s with respect to smoking policies), this issue should be a “no-brainer”. But my advice to you as an SGA member is to be prepared for the reality: there’s a negative tradition of WV “good ole boys” attitude and people need to fight against it! That unfortunate tradition is the major reason WVU has a new President right now. Not everything can change overnight, but as Obama says, change isn’t easy. Try to get the WVU President to buy-in on whatever you all propose.

A complete smoking ban would be amazing. Not only would it be good for non-smokers, not having to breathe in the noxious fumes, but also it would actually help smokers in quitting. A big part of a successful tobacco cessation attempt involves changing habits. If people have to find some place else to smoke, they will be changing a habit, thus improving their chances of being able to quit. Also, seeing other people smoking is a trigger that can lure former smokers into relapse. Keeping smokers away from entryways will help to prevent this problem for those who have already been successful in quitting.

I believe that a campus wide smoking ban is a must with designated smoking areas for smokers. These areas should be away from main entrances to buildings as to keep non-smokers from having to walk through the smoking area. Which is not only an eye-sore but a health hazard. I believe that through a smoking ban we will begin to diminish that tarnished reputation WV as an “unhealthy” state. Taking this ban campus wide is the first step to creating a cleaner and healthier WVU.

It is truly pathetic that the University is trying to ban campus wide smoking. I know that myself and the rest of my friends that smoke are very respectful when we do smoke. That includes not smoking around people who don’t and disposing of our ciggarette butts properly. You’re going to punish an entire community of people because some people are ignorant?

Banning people from smoking around the Health Science Center seems resonable to me but banning smoking all over campus is a tad extreme.

I’ve seem to misunderstand how non-smokers are better then smokers.

Ban smoking on campus! It’s long overdue.

West Virgina is one of only 13 states that has no type of state wide legislation to limit or ban smoking in public places. Morgantown may not be the capital, but I think that as the home of the state’s largest university it is our small city’s job to set an example for the rest of the state. Hopefully this HSC smoking ban is the first step of a campus wide ban and the forerunner of state wide smoking bans to follow.

Smoking should be banned campus wide.

I can’t walk anywhere on the campus without breathing cigarettes. It only takes a few to really pollute the air. It’s bad enough that I can’t go out anywhere on weekends without having my hair & clothes reek of smoke. I shouldn’t have to breathe it just to go to class. Please ban smoking at WVU!!

Ban smoking campus wide.

coming from an occasional smoker, i think it’s impossible to ban smoking throughout the whole campus. this is why we have designated smoking areas. do you realize how many people on this campus smoke? at towers we have designated smoking spots, and thats where everyone smokes. maybe at the other halls that’s not the case, but at towers everyone has been abiding the rules.

I definately don’t think there should be a smoking ban on campus. people who smoke in areas like doorways during crappy weather are just unprepared and rude. be rude back and shove their asses out of the way. i am a smoker and i think a smoking ban would be most inconvenient.

Although I do not smoke, I believe that it is unfair to ban smoking out of doors. If it bothers you so much…walk around the smokers. It’s not that difficult.

While I am not a smoker, I do think that a smoking ban is completely ridiculous. Cigarettes are a legal substance, and until that changes, students and faculty will continue to use them in the open. Banning them would not be effective. Would students who violate the ban be fined, given citations, kicked off campus? I think that if the SGA really cared about “health concerns”, they would focus attention on things like dangerous under-age drinking practices, or perhaps finding money for new ventilation systems in buildings such as the Creative Arts Center (which was plagued with asbestos concerns when I was a student there).
While smoking bans are gaining popularity, you may also notice that in WV, they are still rather ineffective, and continuously repealed by the same bodies that passed the bans in the first place.

A smoking ban campus-wide will actively promote the idea that our campus is dedicated to the health and well-being of all students. Although it will certainly anger some smokers, it will also protect the hearts and lungs of non-smoking students, and, perhaps, encourage some smokers to finally quit. Ban smoking campus-wide!

I am a staudent, as well as a staff member at Health Sciences and I see the ban at HSC as the first step to a campus-wide ban. For years we have tried to accomodate smokers with designated areas and “the green line,” but people continually push the limits. We now have decades of eividence that smoking is dangerous and there are numerous hazards associated with seond-hand smoke and it is time for institutiotions of higher education to take a stand. As a student I should not have to plow through groups of smokers to enter buildings. Thank you to the administrators at HSC for taking a stand on this issue.

Recently, a study found that even minimal exposure to second hand smoke can lead to heart attacks (http://tinyurl.com/yjs4r9g). This is just one of many studies regarding the dangers of smoking, and many more to come. For the health and wellness of students, faculty, staff and visitors, it is imperative that the whole WVU campus become a smoke-free environment. There is a reason more universities have gone smoke-free in the last 3 months then there were in total just 2 years ago! Second hand smoke is dangerous, and it is the responsibility of SGA and WVU to protect the students it represents from smoking’s effects. Please pass this smoking ban quickly on the WHOLE WVU campus, but especially the HSC campus considering the WVU Hospitals will go tobacco free on November 19.

WVU’s smoking policy is in dire need of an update. There is so much evidence now stating the dangers of smoking not only first hand, but also second hand and even third hand. Many universities are updating their tobacco policies because they recognize how it affects their students, faculty and staff. In fact, the US surgeon general and the ACHA (Academic College Health Association)recognize that tobacco smoke is a class-A carcinogen and that there is no safe level of exposure. I hope the adoption of a tobacco ban occurs within this school year for the entire campus. No person on campus should ever have their right to breathe clean air impinged. I encourage the SGA to take their responsibility to the students very seriously and fully endorse the adoption of a new, improved tobacco policy.

I am a very health conscious person and do everything that I can to maintain long term health. It is very frustrating to have to walk through a cloud of smoke every time I want to enter or exit a building or walk across campus. I feel campus wide ban is necessary because it is not fair for nonsmokers to be exposed to second hand smoke.

I believe the most important thing to remember is that a smoking ban is not an attempt to take away rights of smokers, but more to protect the rights and health of those who have to deal with second hand smoke everyday. In response to an earlier comment, I wish I, and all the other non-smokers, could just be rude back and push smokers out of the door way, however there are laws that say we can’t do that. I look at it this way, if you’re driving dangerously and putting others at risk, you will get pulled over. However, if your blowing smoke into people’s faces that’s your right? If all smokers were curtious enough to not smoke in high traffic areas, there would be no need for a smoking ban anywhere. Unfortunately thats not the case. Smoking bans are the only self defense techniques non-smokers have.

The question at hand is whether or not a ban on smoking would be implemented. My answer to that question, is most definitely.

How fair is it that even though I choose not to smoke, I am, in effect, forced to smoke. If someone smokes near me, I have no choice (other than not breathing) but to breathe in second hand smoke. I cannot actively not-smoke around those who are smoking.

For something with no health benefits, why are we forcing non-smokers (who are also the majority) to suffer the negative effects of something that someone else has chosen to do?

If I were to try to avoid smokers at all times on campus, I would never get anywhere. Why should I have to walk to another entrance of a building to avoid smokers?

Finally, I feel that many people are getting caught up in the semantics of the question at hand. Many people are getting caught up in a similar question of “Can a smoking ban be effectively enforced?” rather than the true question of “Do you support a smoking ban?” No law is effectively enforced 100% of the time that it is broken. How many people can say that they drive under the speed limit at all times?

I think the ban is a great Idea. maybe then we will no longer see patients outside of Ruby smoking a cigarette in a hospital gown with an IV hanging out of their arm.

Smoking should not only be banned on the entire WVU campus, it is imperative that the ban actually be enforced as well. In addition to the obvious health issues, it appears that smokers are among the last members of our society to find littering to be socially acceptable. Clean up our air, and clean up our landscape with a smoking ban.

I think as AMERICANS we should all have the right to smoke. I plan on smoking in my car on my breaks or sneaking into bathrooms and lighting up between patients.
You will never stop me!!!

I think its a great idea to keep everyone smoke free, thanks,
Ed

Smoking bans are not fair to smokers. I HAVE to have a cigarette before and after class or I can’t focus. It’s part of a smoker’s routine and when it’s thrown off, we go insane. Don’t even consider this policy because people are only going to get aggravated and cause even bigger problems.

I don’t smoke and I agree that the world is a healthier place without smoking. However, if people want to smoke, they should be allowed to smoke, so long as it doesn’t unreasonable interfere with activities of other individuals. In the present situation it seems as if the rules have extended too far to effectively exclude all smoking. I suggest that either smoking shelters or smoking rooms be made available for smokers-with well ventilated spaces and/or filtered air. It is ridiculous that some form of accomodation cannot be made for smokers to be able to practice a lawful activity in an open manner.

Ban smoking campus wide. Right now smokers have the “opportunity” to go outside and enjoy themselves; however, those who do not smoke cannot do the same. Before non smokers can enter a building, they have to walk through a cloud of smoke. If smokers wish to continue smoking, they should smoke in an area that does not infringe upon the rights of others.

Please, please, please ban smoking campus-wide. Just a minute ago, as I was diligently focusing on writing a biology lab paper, I had to close my dorm room window to prevent smoke from filling up my room. This happens many, many times every day, and is definitely one of the most offensive things I come across on a daily basis. As far as I know, smoking is the only thing I can do to infringe upon anyone’s rights I wish. If I don’t like someone who lives nearby, who’s going to stop me from blowing smoke through their window? Why am I not allowed to roll up my own pieces of paper and burn them outside of the front door? Why not in front of a building when a 300-person class lets out? I have that right, don’t I? Smoking is disgusting, ignorant, offensive, and it says a lot, at least in my opinion, about a university. Can anyone disagree that my rights to fresh, clean “mountain” air are being infringed upon by people who want a right to burn toxic, foul-smelling substances to feed their ignorant addiction wherever they want?

How is it that other people who posted on this blog say to just “walk around” or “shove your way through” other people smoking, when their cloud of smoke extens 20 feet? Why should I have to walk around the 20-ft cloud of smoke? Should I instead ask the smokers at hand to wash my clothes because they are the reason they don’t stay clean for more than 3 hours? I don’t care who I offend when I say this, smoking is trashy and when a university STILL permits people to smoke whenever and wherever they want as long as it is outside of a door, I tend to think much less of that university. If WVU expects to shed the “trailer-trash redneck” reputation, this would be the place to start. The fact that WVU is even having this discussion absolutely disgusts me.

A ban of smoking campus-wide would definately have my support. Currently at the HSC we have the no smoking inside the green line but those walking up the hill from lot 81 are still subjected to second-hand smoke. I am able to smell the smoke from many feet away. How do we solve this and promote better health in WV? Ban smoking campus-wide. Smokers should have their choice to smoke but it should be done in private, where it is not affecting those who chose not to smoke. It should not be allowed at a public institution, where it affects others who don’t want to be around the smoke.