Another Campus Falls to Anti-Smoking Zealotry—Even E-Cigs Are Banned
Some students are irritated about the ban, but who are they to stand athwart history?


The University of Arizona has decided to follow colleges around the country in banning smoking on all campus property. The new policy is the university's way of promoting "health and wellness," like a good parent.
UA's ban covers not just cigarettes, but also chewing tobacco, cigars, and e-cigarettes. Hostility toward e-cigarettes is particularly nonsensical, since the tobacco-free product is used by many as a smoking cessation product. In fact, e-cigarettes are much more effective at helping people quit smoking than nicotine patches, according to this study.
Some students are irritated about the ban, but who are they to stand athwart history? From The College Fix:
The fact that they are banning all tobacco products is crazy," sophomore Kevin Uznanski, who does not smoke, told The College Fix. "I think that the policy will work to a certain degree, but it will not eliminate all tobacco use on campus." ..
"Banning electronic cigarettes is just too much," Uznanski said, noting that the devices – which emit vapor, not smoke, and whose use is known as "vaping" – have a minimal effect on bystanders.
Violators will be referred to "the appropriate college student representative for educational resources," which sounds much worse than just paying a fine or something.
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post comments
It's because the e-cig might catch the desert on fire.
Too many administrators and student life dipshits
^^This. From what I've witnessed, progs in the larval stage enter college and beeline it for one of these student life/student government/student rep positions; then they start enacting all this bullshit.
This isn't just a 'prog' thing, if you check out this list of colleges that ban smoking on campus everywhere you will see colleges like Regent (Pat Robertson's), BYU, Wheaton, and quite a few conservative religious colleges that do.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.....iversities
Uh... BYU is not a surprise.
Wayne State is about to implement a similar policy. The students (read: student government) demanded it. For the children. I guess.
Disclaimer: I do not now, and have never smoked. My parents did, and I hated it. And my mother died early of lung cancer. But still, this has nothing to do with real public health.
I'm going to the public meeting, and I think I'll call it 'health theater', by analogy with security theater. Because that's all it is.
Your average student government idiot aspires to politics and "helping" people.
Violators will be referred to "the appropriate college student representative for educational resources," which sounds much worse than just paying a fine or something.
At least in the Re-Neducation camp, they let you keep the piece of your brain they cut out. Which is more than most universities can say these days.
Open inquiry? Intellectual curiosity? Freedom?
Fuck that shit.
OBEY
Well at least they are being a bit more open about their intentions. This is clearly not a public health concern, it is about approved and unapproved activities.
Do they ban chewing nicotine gum? How about thinking about smoking?
Ahhh, life in the mid 1970s in Tampa: smoking areas at HIGH SCHOOL, and nude dancing across the street from Busch Gardens. Good times, good times. Who would have ever thought that decade would mark the peak of decadence?
Separate public funding from the schools. That's all I care about. Do that, and the school can knock itself out however it wants.
UA's ban covers not just cigarettes, but also chewing tobacco, cigars, and e-cigarettes.
I'd ask how in the hell they would justify banning chewing tobacco, given that there is no conceivable way (as far as I'm concerned) that it could possibly affect another person, but I think I already know the answer: FYTW!
I'm going to guess because inconsiderate assholes spit anywhere. They sure as hell aren't going to replace the outdoor ashtrays with spittoons.