By Joyce Wagner
The controversial issue of whether to allow smoking on the Daytona State College campuses will be revisited March 21st at the monthly Board of Trustees meeting.
Due to continuous requests from students and faculty members to make DSC’s campuses smoke-free, Board Chairman Dwight Lewis asked the board during the February meeting, “To put on our agenda next month the smoke-free campus question again. I want to ask for your support of that. I can tell you, I do not believe that I voted correctly the last time it came before us.”
A college-wide smoking ban proposal was turned down by a vote of 7–2 last March. The policy would have prohibited smoking and tobacco use on any DSC campus in both Volusia and Flagler counties. According to the minutes from the March 22nd meeting, Dr. Carol Eaton presented the tobacco free policy to the board on behalf of the employees and the students.
“This has been an ongoing conversation. We were able to draft language and circulate among the employees and the students, and so we are presenting this, for your consideration and ask for your approval as the first reading of policy 7.16.”
All of the board members have strong feelings on the issue, some pro and others con.
Board member Donna Brosemer said, “Policies like (7.16) are highly objectionable and very obnoxious. Presumably the people who smoke are already being isolated for that purpose from the rest of the population. Which begs the question, how is anyone else’s health endangered?”
After other board members had spoken, she added, “I understand that this has been very thoroughly discussed, and that the majority of those in the discussions think this is a good idea. Statistically, in the United States now, the majority of people do not smoke. I’ve never smoked. I like that I can go into any restaurant now and I’m not around cigarette smoke, even though I opposed that law when it was passed too. So I like the benefits of it.”
Board member Bob Davis, who is a smoker, noted that smokers are “confined to the entrance ways in bad weather and rain, and so it’s really true that non-smokers have to pass through this maze of smoke.”
Davis noted the large number of Halifax Medical Center employees who use the west parking lot of DSC since their campus is smoke-free, including the parking lots. He also pointed out that “if you put the policy in, it also goes into the News-Journal Center. How will you affect the revenues that come in for these various shows without having a designated smoking area?”
Forough Hosseini, also a board member, said “I was ready to vote on this. I thought it was a great idea. Never smoked a day in my life. But you know, after listening to Donna, I actually agree. It’s designated areas outside where the smokers choose to go. I’m sure people who smoke know that it’s not good for them. You changed my mind at this moment.”
John Tanner had much to say about government regulations, by saying, “Do you know how much of our tax dollars come from tobacco? And how much does our government depend upon it? And yet we see the government strictly trying to regulate it. We are part of the government. If we were a private institution, I might have a different view. I don’t like to smell cigarette smoke. I don’t smoke. Friends of mine have managed to die early because they chose to smoke. And I don’t have anything good to say about tobacco. But personal freedom in this country is under assault all the time. Our government is one of the greatest, if not the greatest offender of limiting personal liberties. I don’t want to be part of that.”
Added Mary Ann Haas, “I came in thinking, this seems like a slam dunk to me. Cigarette smoke bothers me tremendously. I watched my father die from the effects of cigarette smoking, so I would like to see it banned. From what I understand now, if you’re outdoors on this campus, you could smoke, basically.”
Said Dr. Christina Frederick-Recascino, one of the board members who originally voted for the policy, “I tend to be in favor of the tobacco free policy on college campuses.”
She also wanted to be sure there is “a process of smoking cessation support on campus, should this be enacted, that would help people, especially faculty and staff, transition when the policy would become effective.”
At last month’s meeting and in private, DSC students gave their points of view. Arden Gregory quit a year ago after smoking for 20 years.
He said, “I think it should be left up to the individual. I think there should be designated smoking areas. Today, I don’t appreciate smoking around me. By the same token, I can also make the move to separate myself from designated smoking areas.”
DSC student Chris Tropea noted that, “I work with people that smoke. I don’t smoke myself, but I know that for some people, it’s something that they ‘need to do.’ But you can’t eliminate it all together. No matter what, there’s still going to be people smoking on campus.”
Casey Otten expressed similar feelings.
“When you’re walking around campus, or going to sit at one of the benches, people will come up and just start smoking. It makes it to where you can’t find a place to sit down outside. When you get the overwhelming cigarette stench, it’s annoying for a lot of people. I know a lot of my friends don’t like it. I have asthma, so I don’t like it.”
Other points were raised as well, including the fact that Halifax Medical Center is a smoke-free campus. Effective July 6, 2012, the grandstands at Daytona International Speedway officially became smoke-free. NASCAR driver, Jeffery Earnhardt, a spokesman for Tobacco Free Florida, said that “Families see drivers and venues like Daytona as legendary and this decision sends a healthy message to race fans. I’m proud that leading race organizations like Daytona are protecting our fans from tobacco smoke and are showing young fans that smoking is no longer acceptable.”
Other area colleges and universities have or are considering policies similar to the one proposed last March. The University of Central Florida in Orlando became a smoke-free campus in August 2012, but continues to allow chewing tobacco. The policy does not extend to their campus on DSC property. Bethune-Cookman University prohibits smoking or any tobacco use on their campus. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University recently approved a tobacco-free policy which will go into effect Aug. 1. Its policy, according to ERAU’s human resources department, is “No smoking or tobacco use of any kind allowed in any building, residence hall, parking area, grounds or parked vehicles on university-owned property.”
According to the American Nonsmoker’s Rights Foundation, nationally about 1,100 colleges and universities prohibit smoking. Of these, 766 prohibit any type of tobacco product.
The Palm Beach Post reports that the biggest source of trash on Palm Beach County beaches is cigarette butts, prompting a push to ban smoking there. Anyone who has participated in a city or beach clean-up would find the same to be true here.
The Volusia County Health Department says secondhand smoke contains a deadly mix of more than 7,000 chemicals, hundreds of which are toxic and sixty-nine that can cause cancer. Each year, nearly 50,000 non-smoking Americans die from a disease primarily caused from exposure to secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke is especially harmful to children and adults who suffer from asthma as it can trigger a severe attack. In Florida, 1.47 million children and adults are diagnosed with asthma.
When the Board of Trustees meets this month they will once again discuss and vote on making Daytona State College campuses smoke-free. Understanding the inherent dangers associated with smoking may make the decision an easy one.
Advocates of the ban insist that the rights of one should not be allowed to impact the health of those around them. They say it’s a well-known fact that smoking and tobacco products are hazardous. Making Daytona State College campuses smoke-free will help everyone breathe a little easier is the message they will emphasize at the next meeting.