August 1, 2008
Montgomery College Bans Tobacco Anywhere on Campus
Starting today, Montgomery College has banned tobacco anywhere on its campuses, including outdoor areas far away from any buildings.
In the Post's lengthy story on the decision, the two sides of the smoking debate muse on whether this sort of policy will become standard on most college campuses around the country over the next few years. Anti-smoking and health advocates see this sort of policy as the inevitable next step. Others think it's going way too far.
In the FAQ section of the school's announcement of the new policy on its web site, the college goes so far as to specifically ban smoking in a remote outdoor parking lot at Mannakee and Rockville Pike, meaning students who park there could be in violation of the rule if they are smoking inside their own cars when they pull into the parking lot. The same would be true of anyone using chewing tobacco, since the ban includes tobacco in any form, not just cigarettes.
Students and faculty who are caught violating the tobacco ban are subject to a series of escalating punishments, from an oral warning, to a written warning, and eventually to disciplinary suspension. Campus visitors caught using tobacco may be asked to leave if they refuse to comply with the rule.
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Shit like this makes me want to take up smoking.
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Ohhhhhh boy!
I have a few friends who are NOT gonna enjoy this at all.
*holds up nicotine fix induced rage shield*
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I'd say it is both "the inevitable next step" and "going way too far."
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Wow!
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Smoking outside of my classes was a great way to still feel like a "rebel" even in college.
I can't believe they'd deny that to MC students. For shame!
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Even communists are free to smoke.
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I stole that from a Winston ad back in the late 90's.
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I miss the 70's
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It's going to be a challenging year for most of the student body since 95% of them smoke at the MC Rockville campus. I imagine there are going to be a lot of complaints from the nearby strip malls and neighborhoods about people hanging out and smoking.
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Well, this is completely in line with Montgomery College's ban on fraternity hazing, in that they have no frats.
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I definitely think some of these laws are going too far, but I'm not completely surprised. This, however, is absolute horse-shit:
...meaning students who park there could be in violation of the rule if they are smoking inside their own cars when they pull into the parking lot.
Seriously?
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How does chewing tobacco pose a danger to non smokers/chewers? I can see banning burning tobacco, but I think banning chew is a bit much. Maybe this ban should extend to chewing gum because it causes tooth decay.
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Remember when high schools had a "smoking tree"? Could you even imagine that existing today?
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Chewing tobacco causes harm 'cause it's gross. Also, do any college students chew tobacco?
Man, though, I would have hated it had they banned cigarettes when I was in college. And I don't even smoke.
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Hell, 95% of students on ANY college campus smoke!
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i mean, if you can be like that guy in sterling and jerk off in your car with impunity, how could they keep you from smoking in your own car?
are they going to ban masturbation on campus next?!? :)
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Will Montgomery College be selling all those nice brass spitoons?
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The percentage of college students that smoke is NOT 95%, (it's closer to 25%). Statements and perceptions like that are what keep the current smokers smoking and encourage students to try.
Sorry, I know it's ridiculous to expect truthiness in the comments of a blog...
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I heart smoking bans!! As a parent of kids with asthma, I want to ban all smoking! Do you know what it is like to wake up to your 3 year old not being able to breathe in the middle of the night because your loser neighbor is smoking out her window? I hope this is the first step to banning smoking in residential apartments.
As someone in my thirties, I am always surprised to see young people smoking. It makes no sense. We know what this crap does to us now, there is no reason to harm ourselves and others, sorry.
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are they going to ban masturbation on campus next?!? :)
No, just the cigarette you smoke after you've jerked off into a gym sock.
Try explaining what a "postcoital cigarette" is to the kids nowdays. They get the same look they get when you tell them anal rawdogging still counts as "sex."
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When the smoking ban in bars went down I was a little pissed but it made a little sense. This goes way way way too far. Banning smoking in a parking lot? Really?
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When I own property, I am going to ban nanny-state Democrats from the property.
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I'm pretty sure the majority of people in their 20s who smoke do it just to piss old people off. I know that's why I did it. Fortunately, I quite years ago and now content myself with peeing on the rim.
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It's called being facetious and somehow I doubt there are many young kids reading the comments on this blog. And if they are then shouldn't you be outside enjoying the summer? What the hell's wrong with you? Pretty soon you'll be stuck at a desk slowly getting fat and old, and wishing you could go back to those carefree summer days when all you had to do was wake up, go outside, and play all day. Oh and don't start smoking it's bad for you.
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The only real problem with the smoking ban is that now that the smoke is gone, you notice how stinky the bar and the customers really are. B.O., bad breath, stale perfume, piss, spilled beer, it's all there at the forefront. At least, it isn't giving you cancer.
Yet.
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Meh. I went to a college that banned all alcohol on campus, even for people over legal age. I'm partial to a drink myself now and then, but so long as a place called "not on campus" existed it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't even a deal, or a small deal. It was a little bit over one-tenth of one-twentieth of a deal, IIRC. I'm sure smokers at MoCoCoCo will adjust just as we did.
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So teenagers and college students (who certainly do read blogs) aren't effected by perceptions of their peers? DON'T YOU REALIZE HOW INFLUENTIAL YOU ARE??
No, actually what I was saying is that this is a proven misperception among college students: they think a lot more of their peers smoke than what is actually true. And this makes them more likely to start themselves.
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Aww crap, I'm trying to sound all smart, and I went and switched my affected and effected's.
Look, grammar police, I'm correcting myself before you get all upset.
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Got that right Monkey ... and college campuses are going to reek of sex now!
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I'm not saying they're not affected by their peers and not reading blogs, I'm just wondering how many young kids actually read this particular blog.
FWIW I thought that 95% of the students at UMD smoked but that in no way tempted me to begin. In fact it only strengthened my resolve not to. But that's just me, I've always been the odd girl out.
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I quit smoking b/c it's bad for my health. I fully support the [indoor] DC smoking ban.
This is going way too far for me.
For those who wonder why young people smoke. I apologize for being this snarky, but... Why doesn't everybody get 20+ minutes of exercise each day? Why don't we all eat more vegetables? Why do people eat potato chips and Big Macs? Why don't we all get 8 hours of sleep every night? Why do we drive cars that spew toxic fumes into our air? yada, yada, yada
We all make decisions, and we should all be able to make reasonable decisions. Second-hand smoke shortens your life, but so do all the things above . Outdoors the smoke can dissipate quickly and that's good enough for me.
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I hope this is the first step to banning smoking in residential apartments.
If smoking ever becomes banned in residential apartments, it'll be a sad day for the whole notion of freedom.*
*This has nothing to do with whether or not it's harmful to others, as we all know it is. It's a matter of principle -- if the government is going to tax a product that people of a certain age can buy, it would be hypocritical to make it against the law to use said product. It's like selling someone a car and then telling them they can only drive it on 40% of the nation's roads.
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@ mptlover:
Smoke doesn't dissipate that quick on hot, humid summer day.
When you're a kid and you smoke, you think you're cool and so do your peers who smoke. When you're older and you end up getting a "real" job where you have to go outside to smoke, you look like an idiot. However, I'm still jealous that the smokers have a somewhat more legitimate excuse to go outside and take fifty-million breaks during the day.
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To elaborate on my above comment...
If a certain apartment complex wants to advertise itself as smoke-free, I think that's a great idea (just like I think a restaurant or bar should be able to make their own decisions on the subject). If people don't want to go to a bar that allows smoking, they can go to the one down the street that prohibits it. If you want to live in a smoke-free apartment building, good for you... just don't complain when you live in one that allows smoking as Joe Camel in Unit 420 lights up.
The more the government gets involved in this shit, the less our "free" society is just that -- it's that simple. If you're going to take away a person's right to smoke, go the whole nine and take away the smoke itself.
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I'm one of the biggest anti-secondhand-smoke douchebags out there, arguing somewhat insanely for a smoking ban in bars and restaurants, but even I can't get on board with this.
The amount of second-hand smoke you get outside has got to be pretty dang small. And why should we care if someone chews tobacco (I guess theoretically you can say we are all paying for his eventual cancer bills, but that would apply to a crapload of other things as well).
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the sooner we can ban the ban on bans, the better we'll be.
ban.
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If smoking ever becomes banned in residential apartments, it'll be a sad day for the whole notion of freedom.
Just to play devil's advocate, how would it be any worse than our current ban on smoking marijuana anywhere?
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Personally, I find this to be absolutely ridiculous.
I recently (10 days ago) decided to quit smoking and I've held fast to it and I haven't smoked a single cigarette since then. But this ban seriously makes me want to go out and buy a pack and just sit on that campus and smoke.
*sigh* MoCo might as well jsut make smoking illegal altogether.
Oh, and Mr. Devil's advocate, it's different because currently at least, it's still legal to buy cigarettes.
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I wish they would ban smoking on 7th Street... It would make people get out of the way and walk a little faster.
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it's pretty much against my principles and difficult - if not impossible - to rationalize, but I'm totally in favor of this... I just hate cigarette smoke that much...
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do any of these anti-smoking zealots ever come to realize they've gone too far? this is ridiculous. i wish the people who come up with this kind of sh*t were psychoanalyzed to see what is really going on with their actions ....