Why the ban on smoking in college campuses should be scrapped

According to recent statistics by the CDC, about one in five adults between eighteen and twenty-four are smokers (CDC). In most colleges, this is the age range of their students, meaning that about twenty percent of their students are smokers. So why is it that many campuses are beginning to ban smoking on grounds? Our campus should not be one of them. The smoking ban should not be enacted at our school because it will lose the school money, increase litter on campus, and cause more disruptions in class.

If the college bans smoking on campus, it will ultimately lose the school money. In between classes, many students spend their time in the student center, cafeteria, or book store. Students in turn spend their money on lunch, snacks, or another activity to keep themselves occupied. However, if smoking is banned on campus, students who do smoke will be forced to travel off of campus to have their cigarette before their next class. This means they will have less time in the cafeteria or bookstore, and since they are already off campus, are more likely to spend their money at a restaurant or corner store where they can smoke outside while they eat.

Someone supporting the smoking ban might say that allowing smoking on campus causes litter, but it is just the opposite. In all honesty, just because smoking on campus is banned, it does not mean that people will not still do it. The difference will be that there will not be a designated area for it, and by extension, nowhere to safely dispose of the cigarette buds. Cigarette buds will be scattered across campus, making them much harder to clean and a big eyesore for the students, staff, and those visiting. Because students will be trying to smoke in secret, it will be in all of the hardest areas of campus to clean as well, making it even more of a hassle.

A smoking ban on campus will also cause more disruptions in class for more than one reason. The twenty percent of the class who are smokers will not be focused on the teacher because they have not had their cigarette. They will be annoyed and angry and craving nicotine, which will make it harder for the professors to teach and disrupt the learning process for everyone. If they do decide to have their cigarette before class, they will have to go off campus to smoke it. If they have two classes in the blocks directly after each other, they will most likely be late for their second class. When a student walks into a classroom late, everyone’s focus is immediately pulled from what the teacher is saying. This again causes a distraction in class, and ultimately disrupts the learning process for everyone.

Enacting the smoking ban on campus would lose the college money, create more litter, and cause class disruptions. If students are forced to leave campus to smoke, it will not only cause problems for them, but will ultimately hurt the rest of the college community as well. So why try to hurt our college by banning smoking?