USC Stops Smoking

by Eric Osguthorpe

Across the border from where this article is typed, in Germany (a veritable smoke-fest), French Parliament is planning a gradual ban come 2008. Scotland & Ireland restricted smoking, even banning it in restaurants and bars. With the Surgeon General’s recent report of the ‘no risk free’ level of second-hand smoke exposure, why is Clemson and the rest of the nation lagging behind?

A cigarette contains hundreds of chemicals that cause heart disease, pulmonary disorders, and cancer. Nearly every human is aware of the dangers of smoking. They drill it into our heads during elementary school, place skull & crossbones on packaging, show ads stating that smoking can kill you and, naturally, Hollywood makes bank. There is some breaking news.

Awareness already more than prevalent, this past summer, the surgeon general published a report stating the newfound increase in danger from any level of secondhand smoke. Among its findings: 1) Involuntary smoking causes premature death in children and adults. 2) Exposure to smoke has immediate effects on the cardiovascular system and causes heart disease and lung cancer. 3) Though eighty percent of Americans do not smoke, millions of citizens are exposed to secondhand smoke at home, at work and elsewhere. 4) As separation and filtering only reduce secondhand smoke exposure, the only manner to eliminate contact is a complete indoor ban. 5) No level of involuntary smoking is safe. 6) Children and teenagers exposure to secondhand smoke are subjected to higher rates of respiratory infections, slow lung growth, ear problems and sudden infant death syndrome.

Such results are not surprising, though the finding of a Cal/Environment Protection Agency study from 2005 is. It states that approximately 50,000 excess deaths occur each year as a result of involuntary smoking. The majority of such deaths are due to pulmonary disease, the remainder from cancer and sudden infant death syndrome. Tack on the CDC numbers that state 1 in 6 deaths in the United States are due to smoking. That’s surprising.

Scotland. Ireland. France. Germany. All countries that relish their freedoms; countries in which bars outnumber restaurants, cigarette vending machines can be found on most corners and a stereotype invariably holds a cigarette and sports a beret; all countries in which smoking is limited in scope or such action is in dialogue. Americans, with the norm now being overweight, are not world-renowned for their wellbeing, rather for their ingenuity and progressiveness (for better AND worse).

The liberal pansies in New York caved in to rationality and joined California, Washington and many other states in banning smoking in restaurant and bars. Even Georgia joined the fray, enacting a ban in public places, excluding bars and restaurants not serving minors. If one peruses a list of smoking laws, most every state, or major city within, falls under some type of restriction. South Carolina remains notably absent. Why are South Carolina and Clemson slow on the uptake? Proximity to Tobacco Road? Bullheadedness?

Not for long. On August 1st, the University of South Carolina enacted a partial smoking ban, the first of its kind among major colleges in the state. Perhaps emboldened, Columbia City Council now debates lessening the prevalence of smoke in our state’s capitol. While the bans are in place, enforcement and support is not one-hundred percent. Enforcing such a ban without further inconveniencing smokers is a logistical issue. At USC, there are not enough trashcans outside the twenty-five foot barrier imposed by the school. As such, smokers must break that barrier or litter; both seem oft chosen. Now faced with a dearth of smoking areas, those that light up find it much harder to protect themselves from the elements on those dreary days. With lax enforcement at USC, why not just smoke under an awning? It is a common occurrence that leaves most unobtrusive folk under a cloud rather than requesting the mobile smokestacks to follow the rules.

Imagine a world where there are no smokers in TTT’s, Overtime or Nick’s. Imagine how much business they would lose. No need to imagine, they won’t. Such happened in New York City, among other cities across the nation, where the restaurant and bar industry gained sales after the citywide ban. Despite that many bars may lose customers, they will not lose patrons and may gain those who prefer their pillow not to reek of smoke the following morning. Prohibiting smoking is an infringement upon the freedoms our nation’s forefathers held dear. That is not to say we have never been there - the requirement to buckle-up, whose action is such where the victim is singular, is now commonplace.

Of course, one may choose to do otherwise and be subject to penalties, though there is much to say for Darwin at work. Involuntary smoking is a verb that requires no conscious action – breathing is instinctive – and it affects everyone. Yet unless a fan of building underground bunkers replete with farm & really maximizing the selection of books on Amazon, you place yourself in the line of premature death every day. While we make a conscious choice to subject ourselves to all kinds of dangers the moment we walk out the door, smoking is not a necessary evil.

Are the literal tons of exhaust we expel from our automobiles are any less dangerous or offending to those who ride bikes? No. Alternative, environmentally friendly energy sources are of greater importance, but smoking is a far easier starting point & more readily accomplished. Just don’t say that to Al. In 1914, Benjamin Tillman, a familiar name around these parts, led the charge banning smoking in the US Senate Chambers. One hundred years later, smoking remains a constant nuisance on Clemson’s otherwise sublime campus.

If you walked through Columbia recently, perhaps you realized that the ‘campus’ is inferior. USC rarely leads Clemson in anything of note, so why is Clemson not on the scoreboard in this contest. Where is the 63-17 of public health?