IT IS hard not to notice, and even harder not to inhale, the cloud of smoke we students have to pass through to enter university buildings and attend classes, at least at one time or another. Most non-smoking students accept this burden as an immutable fact of life. It doesn't have to be this way. Universities across the country from California (not surprisingly) to Illinois to Delaware to Texas (surprisingly) have banned smoking within 15 or 20 feet of entrances to every university building. This either takes form as a complete ban on smoking near entrances or by designating different smoking and non-smoking entrances.
Considering that the economic history of Virginia is tied to tobacco, it is not surprising that the University lags behind the times, even offering ashtrays outside most if not all building entrances. However, it would behoove us to remember that the economic history of Virginia was tied to slavery as well as tobacco; Thomas Jefferson grew tobacco, yes, but he also owned slaves. No sane person would argue that our "economic history" is a reason to revive slavery. Even if one were to argue that the current economy of Virginia depends on tobacco sales, I would reply that even if a smoker smoked two less cigarettes per day (out of 20 per day) because they could not be troubled to walk the extra 20 feet from a building entrance, I would argue that these smokers might live longer by cutting back and in that extra year of their lives. If they live a year and a day longer, staving off that heart attack may benefit the economy. And, be honest, how many smokers do you know that would quit or even reduce smoking in this situation (none if you know the smokers that I do). It is just too important to them.
What about the fabled "right to smoke?" The "right to smoke" has been overturned in court cases all over the country; the Constitution preserves many fundamental rights, which despite the prevalence of tobacco in 1787, smoking was not one of them (neither is slavery). Likewise, smoking is not "an immutable characteristic determined solely by an accident of birth," the Supreme Court's requirement for a discriminated group (Fronterio v. Richardson, 1973).
Technically, there is no right to be free of secondhand smoke either, but the effects of secondhand smoke on health are widely documented, similar to the way that the effects of drunk driving were widely documented before blood alcohol contents were included in laws. The situation is similar. Drunk driving laws are not Prohibition, they just regulate the dangers posed by certain scenarios, i.e. driving drunk.
The surgeon general reported in June that secondhand smoke can cause heart disease, lung cancer, and asthma attacks and is "a serious health hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in children and nonsmoking adults." I smoked myself for seven years. I quit when I developed asthma. I have no one to blame for that except myself, but I sincerely hope that I didn't hurt anyone else. Considering the current evidence, however, I think that I probably did. At the very least, my actions, like those of most smokers, have contributed to rising health care costs for everyone.
As we have tried to mediate the dangers of drunk driving to innocent people, we should strive to mediate the dangers posed to innocent bystanders by secondhand smoke, while still letting smokers smoke themselves to death if they want. The only way to do this is to for us, the student body, to speak up and make our lives safer by removing those ubiquitous ashtrays and ban smoking near the entrances to University buildings.
Eric Liebgold is a student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
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