Tobacco.org

MAIER: Too soon for an all-campus tobacco ban 

Even though 94 percent of UM students surveyed said they don’t smoke on a regular basis, that’s still 6 percent that does. If that number can be applied to recent fall enrollment numbers at the University — 14,921 students — that would mean about 895 students would be affected by the ban as smokers. Some of them are probably freshman required to live in campus housing.

It’s fine to try to educate people about the negative effects of smoking and it’s good to have resources available to help people quit. But it’s too soon for a complete ban of tobacco products.

I don’t doubt that there are good intentions behind this policy or that it has the potential to do some good things for this campus. But because I remain troubled by its overbearing nature, I can’t bring myself to support it. For better or for worse.

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