Lloyd Shisler
Staff Writer

Smoking is a huge issue among our society. As a kid, I can remember all the briefings about smoking.  I’m sure we all remember this. There is no need to spout statistics. It is very clear that smoking is bad for you.

Slowly but surely we are seeing smoking “rights” slowly being taken away.  There are many reasons, health being the main one.  We see the government banning smoking to the point of designating smoking areas; a house or car.

Recently, Pierce College has been deliberating on whether or not to get rid of smoking on campus all together. Smoking is very addicting, even said to have the same addictive qualities as heroine. Despite all the tools out there to help people quit, many still struggle to quit.

For smokers it’s a love and hate relationship. Some people just simply like to smoke. At what point do we start infringing on rights? Do smokers have a right to smoke? These are questions that have created a huge controversy over the subject. I personally do not feel that smoking should be outlawed on campus.

What more could you possibly want? The designated smoking area is more than 25 feet away from any building.  This exceeds most requirements from most organizations in the country. The designated smoking area is even blocked off in a corner to itself. Students have many options to avoid this. Students don’t even have to avoid it necessarily. You could walk past the smoking area and still be 15 feet from the designated smoking area.

In a smoker’s point of view, it seems that there is injustice going on. What if the same thing happened to people who play video games? Yes, video games do not have the same addicting properties or nowhere near the hold on an individual. Video games can be very addicting in fact, it can inhibit your own life in many ways. Isn’t that true for most things we do and eat in life? Why not ban fatty foods that give people heart attacks early in life?

It seems I’m not the only one who feels this way. John Baumgardner, a student at Pierce College, pointed out that, “Often, smoking is not a choice, it is an addiction. Having a designated smoking area allows those to smoke and cope with it in an area separate from non-smokers. Due to the location it is in, it doesn’t impact those who do not smoke.”

Another student, Meghan, said “I do not agree with a smoking ban. The smoking area I think is out of the way, enough so the non-smokers do not have to be bothered by the smokers

I brought the idea up to students about having a vote for this policy. Most students agreed with the idea. I know the school is not a democracy but a business of education. With such an impact on students administration should let the students decide on the matter. Banning smoking could lead to Pierce College losing business. Which affects ALL of us!