Contributing Writer
All I want to do is sit outside, grab a seat under the trees, and take it all in. Imagine it, just relaxing on the green, and then someone walks out of the student center, or Shad, or D-hall, and lights up a cigarette: moment ruined.
Here is where my sarcasm gets the better of me, I start an internal monologue as a smoker: “Let’s light up this white stick filled with tobacco. Oh, and maybe try to enjoy the rat poison in there too, but who cares, I’m just concerned with the addictive qualities of the nicotine anyway. Then to top off this perfect morning, I am going to stand right outside any building and enjoy my smoke-infested air.”
I mean really, what do people think when they light up? Let me pollute other people with this smoke? Unfiltered smoke that has been proven to cause cancer, do you remember the secondhand smoke talks in elementary school? Did you miss that day?
I try to understand the so-called coolness factor, which can be the only other alternative since we know it is not healthy. Let me take a long drag like James Dean, flip my hair, and then be on my way. Or like Olivia Newton-John in Grease, who instantly becomes a hip seductress and catches the eyes of all when she lights up a cigarette in her tight leather get-up.
Smoking descriptions thus far are cool and seductive also. Well I don’t know about you, but when I think of smoking I envision Cruella De Vil, the evil puppy killer from Disney’s 101 Dalmatians. (The count now stands at cool, seductive, and puppy-killer for our smoker’s description.)
Maybe Mickey’s creator was trying to tell us something even in the sixties—the height of cigarette smoking: smokers are evil puppy-killers.
Okay, so that might be extreme, but I don’t understand how educated people believe that smoking where other non-smokers are working and learning is a healthy or smart choice.
I don’t want to study with a side of smoke. On that point, whoever smokes above my room, I am talking to you. It smells, it’s unsanitary, and quite frankly I would like to remain cancer-free.
I am not advocating getting rid of smoking cold turkey, although, it would be much healthier for everyone. Maybe a compromise of sorts for both camps could be to have a designated smoke spot on campus or even using tobaccoless nic pouches could be beneficial for both the non-smokers and the people trying to quit smoking, where non-smokers do not have to walk out of their house and feel bombarded with the smoke. Switching to vaping significantly reduces your exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease, and diseases of the heart and circulation like heart attack and stroke. You’ll want to buy from the best online vape shop so you can make your choice wisely.
I know I am not the only person on campus who feels this way. I think some of my frustration stems from the sheer amount of people who smoke around campus. It’s the whole “everyone is doing it so I should too” factor at work. Let me tell you, I am not buying that logic either. I would much rather be smoke-free than be like Cruella de Vil.
Questions? Email Lauren at lmuliawa@fandm.edu.