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DrugScreening.org


 
Pennsylvania University System Adopts Strict Smoking Ban
September 17, 2008

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News Summary

Pennsylvania's state-owned universities have adopted a strict campus smoking ban that covers both indoor and outdoor areas, the Associated Press reported Sept. 16

The wide-reaching ban, announced by a mass e-mail with just one day's warning, affects 110,000 students at the 14 universities in the state system. (Penn State University, which only bans smoking indoors and near building entrances on campus, is not among the schools affected by the wider ban).

John Cavenaugh, chancellor of the state university system, said he decided to "go on the side of caution" in interpreting a new state law banning smoking in most public places; Cavenaugh decided that all campus property falls under the state directive, even parking lots and sports fields.

The new policy has sparked low-key student protests on a few state university campuses. "We're simply asking for some compromise, like one or two designated (smoking) areas on campus," said Steve Dugan, a freshman involved in a protest at Clarion University. "It would have been better if there were more warning given and a chance to put in our own ideas."

Officials say they are focusing on educating employees and students about the ban, and university police are issuing warnings and health-center referrals to students caught smoking.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by Bans on 02 Oct 08 07:24 PM EDT
I think we should take this a step further and ban all cars, buses, and trucks from the roads as they are polluting my air, not to mention both of my neighbors grilling,bonfires,fireplace use which is killing me. All red meat should be banned as it is making my insurance go up with all the health issues associated with it. All household cleaners,paint,carpets,etc should also be banned. Anyone over a certain weight should not be allowed to buy what we deem healthy. All bars should be shut down as they are where the drunk drivers come from.

Posted by Mike S on 18 Sep 08 06:14 PM EDT
This is to Deb & Annoyed... FYI...smoking is not a fundamental rights granted by the U.S. Constitution. You have a choice to smoke, but I dont ever recall the Constitution extending any rights to smokers. But thats besides the point. I dont mind having designated smoking areas for people to puff away in - along with butt litter receptacles. However, even with these, most smokers simply ignore them. Many smokers also dont consider the people around them. Your choice to smoke ends when you involuntarily make me inhale the dangerous smoke from your cancer stick. Comprehensive tobacco policies are the only way to go. I think they should even go so far as to be able to cite violators. Comprehensive smoking policies limit the places where you can smoke, but dont take away your choice to smoke - so you can keep your self-destructive habits but just take them somewhere else. It's funny how many people (typically conservatives) often cite "Big Brother" meddling into our business. But when it comes to issues of immigration, gay rights, or the right to choose, they want government control and crackdown.

Posted by Anonymous on 18 Sep 08 02:01 PM EDT
So far I haven't seen much mention in public discourse of the vaporizer and the e-cigarette, both of which permit established addicts to ingest nicotine without smoke and its carbon monoxide and 420 other toxins. Legislative bodies should clarify whether these harm reduction modalities shall be unambiguously legal and available to everyone, including minors, considering that over half of all cigarette addicts began before the legal age.

Posted by connie on 18 Sep 08 12:14 PM EDT
First of all, it is your choice to smoke if that is what you want, but it is not a right to be able to do that. Whenever your smoke could potentially harm someone else then you need to move on. I say hooray for businesses, colleges,that have the guts to do the right thing for all concerned. Just investigate the healthcare costs in the U.S. each year do to tobacco use and then tell me you have a right to smoke where my children, mother, husband, all loved ones are. Congratulations, for stepping up and doing the right thing.

Posted by Annoyed on 18 Sep 08 10:19 AM EDT
First and foremost making the choice about what to put in your body IS a fundamental right to an individual. A persons body is their own domain and to think that someone has the authority to regulate what you put in to your body is absolutely absurd. How many rights are you people willing to give up, would you let your daughters be put on birth control because someone says it benefits them, I would hope not. I am not saying that smoking is a smart thing to do by any means, but no one should have the right to regulate what you do with your body and when you do it. Also, the very law that this came from is called the INDOOR CLEAN AIR Act, it has nothing to do with the environment past 25 feet of any building, yet these universities have managed to manipulate our laws yet again. And for those in intensive care units weeping over their loved ones, lets realize that these people made a fundamental decision to start smoking and that most of them will continue until the end. Personal choice should never ever be a debate.

Posted by Ann on 18 Sep 08 09:46 AM EDT
As Madison has stated,smoking IS NOT a right.And for those who think it is, please come see me at work in an Intensive Care Unit where family members are crying because their loved one is on a respirator due to lung damage from smoking.And this loved one is likely to die.Not being able to breathe is not pretty, nor comfortable.

Posted by madison on 18 Sep 08 08:30 AM EDT
Smoking is NOT, I repeat NOT a right and this is also not about Big Brother, it's about public health. Since many states require grade schools to have tobacco free grounds and many work sites ar moving towards tobacco free grounds this makes perfect sense. There are rules about where people can drink alcohol, so why should it be different for tobacco?

Posted by Deb on 18 Sep 08 08:09 AM EDT
This is ridiculous and I'm not a smoker! This is about more regulation of human rights and another case of "Big Brother" stepping in. I like the concept of curtailing smoking from a public health perspective, but the way they went about it is absurd and it imposes on visitors as well as students who have addiction issues. Smoking is stupid, but it's still a right in this country the last time I checked. Give them designated areas, especially for larger campuses. What a nightmare for college enforcement officers too!

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