How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
NYU sent an e-mail yesterday to students asking for feedback on a proposed measure that would forbid smoking within 15 feet of the entrances, exits and fresh air vents of all university buildings. This restriction would augment pre-existing bans on smoking outside of the NYU College of Dentistry and in residence halls and their courtyards.
The WSN Editorial Board supports this restriction, but we are wary of its effectiveness and realistic impacts.
In the e-mail, Bobst Library and Gould Plaza are specifically named as two locations where this ban would be effective. Considering the enclosed nature of these areas, we think the ban would be particularly practical. At more open locations, the ban could be viewed as more of a convenience for nonsmokers than a realistic public health initiative. Walking through a wall of smoke can be inconvenient and disgusting for nonsmokers, though we realize no one will catch cancer from this alone.
But the proposed ban wisely names "fresh air vents" as areas where the 15-foot limit would be in place, and this seems especially sensible. Shimkin Hall was named in the e-mail as a building that was specifically impacted through smokers lighting up near air vents, which led to smoke entering the building through these vents. We believe it is almost more important to focus on these air vents, rather than on keeping smokers away from doors. Outside, the open air is the ventilation system, but the insides of buildings depend on these vents. When smoke clouds a building's ventilation system, the entire building — and everyone inside — suffers.
More than anything, we are concerned about the enforcement of this restriction; strong enforcement is pivotal to its effectiveness. If NYU does not enforce this 15-feet restriction, smokers will naturally congregate near entrances and exits, negating any beneficial effect of the proposal. We don't hold this against smokers; it makes sense. We recommend that NYU place cigarette disposal bins 15 feet away from entrances and exits, both to demarcate the distance and to accommodate smokers.
The e-mail listed a website where students can offer feedback before the proposal is finalized, and it is the responsibility of students to take advantage of this opportunity. While smokers and nonsmokers certainly have different viewpoints and different experiences to substantiate their respective perspectives, it is critical that both sides participate in the dialogue in order for the most effective and universally beneficial outcome to emerge.
