Proposed campus smoking ban sparks debate

Smokers of Columbia, be warned—your tobacco-tinged days on Low steps may be numbered.

As the Columbia University Medical Center goes smoke-free and the city begins to seek an outdoor smoking ban, the Columbia University tobacco workgroup continues to consider whether or not the Morningside campus should follow suit.

Last semester, the workgroup came up with a proposal that, among other things, would make the bulk of the Morningside campus smoke-free. The proposed ban would be effective within the Columbia gates and would stretch from 114th to 120th streets between Broadway and Amsterdam, excluding the grounds surrounding East Campus, the School of International and Public Affairs, and the School of Law.

Renewed efforts to poll students, faculty, and staff have come after a Columbia College Student Council resolution passed last April in opposition to the proposal. Many members said they felt it would be too difficult to enforce and could be a misuse of resources. Other concerns expressed in the resolution were potential decreases in the quality of student life because of possible restrictions on recreational activities, such as smoking hookah, and the impracticality of smokers congregating at the campus gates.

Scott Wright, vice president of student administrative services, formed the initial workgroup in 2008.

According to Wright, the initiative to form the workgroup originated with Michael McNeil, the assistant director of the Alice! Health Promotion Program as well as Columbia University Health Services. McNeil wrote in an e-mail that he took this step “after the University updated the undergraduate housing tobacco policy to bring it into alignment with New York State law and national recommendations.”

The group had no predetermined aim, and after doing substantial research it decided that the primarily goal would be to gather student feedback.

The workgroup attempted to gauge student opinion by holding four open forum feedback sessions in late April and an online survey. But the sessions were poorly attended, and few students answered the survey.

“The workgroup did good work, but they couldn’t back it up with substantive community feedback,” Wright said. This same concern was the subject of an opinion piece written for the Spectator last May by two CCSC members.

The aims of the workgroup, as stated in its proposal, are to “update the tobacco-related policies and procedures for Columbia University,” “to promote the health and well-being of our campus community,” and to “ensure compliance with recently updated city and state regulations.”

Now the workgroup, headed by McNeil, is in the process of finding effective ways to explore campus opinion on the matter by polling faculty, students, and administrative staff, according to CCSC Vice President of Policy Sarah Weiss, CC ’10. The group, which met over the summer as well as last Friday, is discussing the logistics that enforcing such a policy would entail as well as issues that may come up concerning Columbia’s relationship with the larger Morningside community.

“This is 100 percent about gauging opinion,” Weiss said. “Each student has an equal right to this campus, and each opinion should be given equal value.”

Wright emphasized that the proposal was just a preliminary look into possible regulation changes. Nobody on the workgroup, he said, had the power to enforce the policy. “There isn’t a strong arm mentality here at all,” he said.

On campus, students expressed an array of opinions on the proposed ban. Nonsmokers and smokers alike expressed concern for the effects of smoking on nonsmoking individuals, but many also emphasized the difficulty of enforcing such a policy.

Others voiced concerns about the fairness of such a ban. “I don’t think it’s fair to people who smoke, but I personally wouldn’t be opposed to a ban because it wouldn’t affect me,” David Shin, CC ’11, said.

“I don’t think it’s necessary,” Virat Gupta, CC ’12, a nonsmoker said. “It’s not realistic to censor every harmful action that an individual takes.”

But the policy will have an effect on the campus whether it is enforced or not according to McNeil. “Policies that limit where, but not if, a person uses tobacco tend to be correlated with lower tobacco use rates,” he said.

McNeil noted that all permitted smoking locations in the proposal are within five minutes of every campus location and that the workgroup includes both smokers and nonsmokers.
McNeil also emphasized the negative impact of outdoor secondhand smoke, as written in the 2006 U.S. Surgeon General’s Report, and wrote that a final set of recommendations will likely be complete by the end of the 2009-2010 academic year.

Chatchapon Chiaravanond, CC ’13, stood smoking this afternoon outside of Lerner Hall. When asked how he would feel about a ban, he said “I’m a smoker, so I’m against it.” He shrugged his shoulders. “There’s not much else to say.”

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