UM to Implement Campus-Wide Smoking Ban

Submitted by Geaux_Blue on

Just featured on local news (web link) - would be a voluntary ban with no enforceability (meaning campus police wouldn't have fines to implement).

First school to attempt/execute it in the state

Bucknuts is reporting Denard has already violated the ban with 6 cartons of cigarettes and 20 Cuban cigars
 
 

BiSB

June 12th, 2011 at 11:24 PM ^

I would have thought Bucknuts would have given Denard credit.  After all, he did self-report the violations after he was caught by DPS.

BiSB

June 12th, 2011 at 11:30 PM ^

It's basically an attempt to create a social norm.  They're hoping the existence of a rule will be enough pressure to reduce the number of lit cigarettes on campus at any time.

And it will TOTALLY succeed. Smokers are nothing if not completely rational about tobacco use.

JHendo

June 12th, 2011 at 11:43 PM ^

there is nothing rational about not being able to smoke during tailgating, or not being able smoke outside at all for that matter. If you can't smoke on lots used for tailgating, lets go ahead and rule out barbeques as well. As a smoker myself, I've never felt comfortable about smoking inside and subjecting others to my second hand smoke. I've happily smoked outside of even my own house and car. But when you start limiting the ability of people to be able to smoke outside, you are very much vaulting across the line of reason. Illegalize smoking altogether already and put us smokers out of our misery rather than alienating us by pussyfooting around with these illogical laws.

Section 1

June 13th, 2011 at 10:33 AM ^

Really.  I do. 

I know; in the past, when I have smoked, I have been out on the golf course, not bothering anybody else.  It's the only place, and the only time, that I ever light up anything that is not a barbecue grill.  And nobody is exposed to my second-hand smoke.

So I promise; I am going to be fully, 100% supportive of the new smoking ban.  Really, I am.  Yay, Regents.  Go Blue.

ak47

June 13th, 2011 at 2:00 AM ^

Whether you agree with it or not the university has every right to implement this on campus, if it bothers you so much than you can tailgate not on university property.  I am not sure I agree with the ban but I sure as hell know that I'll be glad to not be smelling your second hand smoke on my way to the stadium.

JHendo

June 13th, 2011 at 2:15 AM ^

I never said I deny they're authority to do this, I just question whether they are going to far by doing it. When a rule alienates 1 out of every 6 people who are doing something quite legal, it must be questioned. Also, you'll unfortunately still smell my second hand smoke on your way in because the sidewalks around the stadium belong to the City of Ann Arbor and I most certainly will be smoking there.

MGoBender

June 13th, 2011 at 8:44 AM ^

This is more of an attempt to curb smoking outside of public buildings (like outside the library) where smokers congregate and non-smokers are forced to walk through clouds of smoke.

And in Ann Arbor the number of smokers is certainly less that 1 in 6.

aaamichfan

June 13th, 2011 at 9:02 AM ^

I think this is mainly targeting UofM employees and not students. If they were actually targeting students, I'm sure they would be hiring a couple rent-a-cops to hang out and write tickets on the diag.. They can save quite a bit in health insurance expenses if employees start quitting though.

MGoBender

June 13th, 2011 at 9:08 AM ^

Good point.  That's probably their main motivation with the positive side effect of people not have to deal with smoke while waiting for the bus.

Not to be a dick, but I have no patience for smokers.  I hope they finally raise taxes enough so that they price out smoking completely.  The day I could go to Grizzly Peak without having to wash my clothes twice was like a national holiday.  If I could then avoid walking through the hurd of smokers outside the door, I'd be pretty happy and a little safer.

BlueCE

June 13th, 2011 at 10:45 AM ^

I am not a smoker, but it pisses me off when others like to call on the government to select a minority group of individuals and tax them just because you don't like their choices.  I hate motorcycles, with a passion, so I should be calling on the government to tax bikes at 400% of their value just cause I don't like them?

 

You'll say the issue is that we have to pay for their care when they get cancer, and I agree that we should NOT be paying for their decisions.  But the problem here is that each individual should pay for their actions (private insurance) rather than banning the smokers and their free will. 

JHendo

June 13th, 2011 at 10:00 PM ^

This is where the disconnect between smokers and non smokers intesify. Non smokers confuse the mild annoyance of smelling smoke nearby or walking into a cloud of smoke with what is in fact dangerous levels of secondhand smoke.  Do you realize how much secondhand smoke you need to be subjected to for it to start to cause the smallest of health issues?  These reports that attempt to prove the dangers of secondhand smoke are as much propaganda as the reports by big tobacco refuting the dangers of smoking.  A person would have to be trapped in a near air tight room in close proximity of multiple heavy smokers on a regular basis for an extended period of time for someone to experience these negative of effects proximity smoking,  Your over exaggerations of how smoking effects you personally is hyperbolically ridiculous.  I do apologize that my smoking annoys you, and I will make sure I'm reasonably distanced downwind from people as I smoke.  But for the love of having any ounce of reason in your body on this topic, do some research and realize if you do run into a smoker who's not as polite as me about it and you get some smoke in your face, its not affecting you a single iota health wise.  Annoyance, yes, health risk, not really.

Durham Blue

June 14th, 2011 at 12:24 AM ^

then alcohol should definitely be made illegal as well.  The negative impacts of alcohol use on individual health, society and families far outweigh that of cigarettes/cigars and second-hand smoke.  And that's not even close to being a debate.  It just bothers me that people will rally around alcohol use (weekend drinking thread anyone?), but God forbid they see or smell someone else's smoke.  I happily engage in those drinking threads but I also don't whine if I smell cigarette smoke.

A little perspective...

goblue20111

June 12th, 2011 at 11:31 PM ^

"U-M police officers won't be issuing tickets, school officials said. Instead, employees and students would be subjected to disciplinary procedures already in place.

For U-M employees, it might amount to a workplace violation.

For students, it could include taking part in a resolution process involving the offended party who reported the smoking violation. It's possible, but not at all likely, that repeated and flagrant violations would result in disenrollment, the university said."

CRex

June 13th, 2011 at 8:59 AM ^

Well it's pretty strictly enforced on the Medical Campus.  We'd had a campus wide ban for years.  DPS sweeps the standard smoking spots pretty regularly and ha sin some cases issued fines to repeat offenders.  I have no idea how it works on Central.

Maybe it is just an excuse to remove those cig butt holders and save on having to clean and replace them.

Mgobowl

June 13th, 2011 at 10:40 AM ^

Have you ever walked or run along Medical Center Drive? I see hospital staff (even nurses escorting patients!) smoking out there all the time. I guess the sidewalk is not University property, but I think the grass is because the helicopter pad is just down the hill and the Arb is right there too.

aaamichfan

June 13th, 2011 at 11:18 AM ^

Yeah I agree. There's that spot near the bus stop across Med Center Dr from the hospital, and there are always 5+ people out there each time I drive by.

I get the feeling this campus-wide ban will be similar to the Michigan Stadium ban. Same amount of people smoking, but just hiding it a little more.

jmblue

June 12th, 2011 at 11:30 PM ^

This is interesting for a campus like ours, that is so integrated into its city.  In some places it's blurry where the campus ends and the rest of Ann Arbor begins.

wildbackdunesman

June 12th, 2011 at 11:56 PM ^

Many years ago I lived in West Quad and a couple stories right below our window was an exit to the computer lab where people would smoke.  Our room would frequently smell like a bar from all of the smoke wafting up.  Being a dumb college underclassman, we'd frequently throw water and other objects below on the smokers.  The good old days.

Deep Under Cover

June 13th, 2011 at 12:17 AM ^

during my tenure there. Come to think of it, I am not exactly sure what changed... They still had the butt depositories outside all fo the buildings and I still saw plenty of people smoking. I donno.

turtleboy

June 13th, 2011 at 12:39 AM ^

an end to terrorism, free health care for the entire planet, and a 24-7 worldwide snuggie dress code. They figure if they just say it then everybody else will get the general idea and fall in line. Eureka!

Noahdb

June 13th, 2011 at 12:42 AM ^

Who are these people who still smoke in this day and age? Between the ridiculous prices, the weakness of the drug and the horrible, horrible health effects, I hope you aren't expecting sympathy.

Get yourself some nicorette or an electric cigarette, take a bath, get some new clothes and get into the 21st century.

JHendo

June 13th, 2011 at 1:04 AM ^

48 million people in the US happily/ignorantly still smoke and not damn one of us care what you have to say and what you think it takes to stop smoking. Don't like smokers? Well then I suggest you get yourself into the 21st century and quit whining about it and move your ass at least 10 feet upwind of me.

JHendo

June 13th, 2011 at 1:04 AM ^

48 million people in the US happily/ignorantly still smoke and not damn one of us care what you have to say and what you think it takes to stop smoking. Don't like smokers? Well then I suggest you get yourself into the 21st century and quit whining about it and move your ass at least 10 feet upwind of me.

Wolverine318

June 13th, 2011 at 6:41 AM ^

Amen dude. There is nothing more annoying than walking out of a building and into a cloud of smoke. My grandparents smoked and died of lung cancer. My mother was a smoker and had a heart attack from her smoking and alcoholism. I fail to see the benefits and attraction of smoking. It smells like shit an is perhaps the worst thing you can do to your body outside of living in a tanning bed.

Its_Always_Lupus

June 13th, 2011 at 7:36 AM ^

but I wish there was some sort of enforcement.  A $13 fine sounds just right to me.  From wikipedia, here are the effects of second-hand smoke:

 

Secondhand smoke causes many of the same diseases as direct smoking, including cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, and respiratory diseases.[2][3][4] These diseases include:

Its_Never_Lupus

June 13th, 2011 at 7:42 AM ^

But this has already gone too far.  The restaurant thing shouldn't have happened.  If you don't like smoke in a restaurant...then don't go to that restaurant.  I know the university has the authority to do what they want, but severely limiting the freedom of the students and visitors does not make for a successful university.