Letters to the Editor: Smoking ban protects students from secondhand smoke

Regarding 'Dorm smoking ban goes too far, sacrifices privacy' (Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2005):

I would be sorely remiss in my duties as Chief Medical Officer if I failed to offer a vigorous or at least, "healthy" response to this editorial. The editorial falls short as an argument on medical, legal and civic grounds when it argues that "the new policy fails to adequately consider the welfare of smokers and the privacy of all students."

The Editorial Board might be viewed as hiding behind a smoke screen if not merely blowing smoke when asserting that, "The . . . ban creates significant burdens for regular smokers, who will have to leave their rooms and buildings to smoke."

First, it is important to point out that there is no ban on an activity that "remains legal" — i.e., smoking — merely a limitation on smoking in shared accommodations where nonsmokers may be affected. While one might easily dispute the magnitude of the burden of having to walk outdoors to light up, not so much as a tip of the hat is given to the impact upon students exposed to secondhand smoke. So, as they say on NPR, let's do the numbers.

According to the Center for Disease Control: An estimated 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 35,000 coronary heart disease deaths occur annually among adult nonsmokers in the United States as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke.

Each year, secondhand smoke is associated with an estimated 8,000–26,000 new asthma cases.

Approximately 60 percent of people in the United States have biological evidence of secondhand smoke exposure.

As to the editorial's assertion that, "At present, few students face serious problems from secondhand smoke," ask anyone who has struggled with cancer, heart and lung disease or an acute asthma attack. It just doesn't get much more serious than that.

Finally, the observation that "Students here at the University are adults, legally and morally able to make their own decisions" sadly seems to ignore the difficult fact that adult decisions must always be made in a context — a context in which, one would hope in the spirit of a civil society, competing goods and liberties must be considered in the decision-making process. Daniel Silverman Executive Director University Health Services