Smokers fight ban, negative stigma

MU will be entirely smoke-free by January 2014.

By Shannon Montanez

Published April 6, 2009

Even though the first step of the chancellor's smoking ban now in effect, students are still debating its merits.

As of Jan. 20, smoking within 20 feet of building openings owned or leased by MU is prohibited, including around residence halls. This is the first step of the six-year plan to gradually end smoking on campus. By January 2011, smoking will be limited to designated areas on campus and by January 2014, the campus will be entirely smoke-free.

Freshman Kyle Lauren is part of a group of students who smoke hookah on the Plaza 900 amphitheater steps. The group meets on a regular basis, but in 2011, the group will no longer be allowed to smoke there.

Lauren sees this group as an unofficial alliance.

"What really unites smokers of any kind is that there is a sense of brotherhood," Lauren said. "There's a uniting prejudice. People don't like smokers. Smokers are evil in the eyes of others."

The Residence Halls Association passed a resolution that asked the administration to seek residents' opinions on the ban, RHA President Bobby Wood said.

Wood said the residence halls act as homes and they are changing what these students signed up for.

"We can't come back to our homes and smoke," Wood said. "And we weren't even consulted."

Although some might feel smoking has a negative stigma, hookah smoking is rapidly spreading across the U.S., said Traci Harr, Campus-Community Alliances for Smoke-Free Environments member. Because it is relatively new experience for many in Missouri, Harr wants people to know the facts about hookah before they make the decision to smoke.

"There are many misconceptions about hookah," Harr said. "It is not a safe alternative to cigarettes. The shisha contains nicotine, tar and other additives. Water does not act as a filter, which is a common misconception."

CASE is a group that has 13 campuses in Missouri working through this grant. The group also works with Peers Advocating for Smoke-free Solutions, which is where much of its student support comes from.

The administration has also cited student support for the decision to pass the smoking ban on campus. The Missouri Students Association Senate voted against the ban in December 2008 and RHA passed a resolution stating students could smoke on the balconies of residence halls as long as the students sharing that floor agree.

"The student support we have comes mainly from surveys we have done," Harr said. "There have been two surveys showing strong support. They also show support by complying."

Lauren said he feels smokers have already been forced outside.

"What more do they want?" he said.

Harr said smoking is a public health issue.

"It is not costly for the university or the city. Studies show there is no economic impact and it is better for businesses', employees' and students' health," Harr said. "It's a winning issue."

Lauren holds a very different view.

"Even before Columbia banned smoking indoors, restaurants were already weeding out smoking inside, to find their niche market," Lauren said. "All they have done is driven people to stay away from downtown Columbia and to drive to a place outside city limits to somewhere they can smoke."