Smoking In The Bathroom: Smoking Tobacco No Longer Cool

Smoking In The Bathroom

by Ronald Borst

An article in the most recent The Commuter, LBCC's student ran newspaper, pointed to a growing awareness about where(and when) smoking is allowed on campus.(The Commuter, 2-5-14)

It seems, the topic was brought about by a campus security guard, who approached a person that was inside a car, smoking. The publicity that ensued, was cradled in a simple question: Where can I smoke?

It seems, not many places, these days.

Even the state is banning smoking, in the form of bans at Oregon state parks. On February 5, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept. banned cigarettes at most parks, and is considering extending that ban to include Oregon beaches.(Statesman Journal, 2-7-14)

Awareness is on the move too, in advertising from the Food & Drug Administration. New television ads are targeting teenagers, and focusing on smoking's health effects on teeth and skin. The theory is to hit kids where it hurts, their looks. Studies have shown that teens care about their looks, and although they are a small demographic in the smoker pie, the numbers of teens that try cigarettes is alarming. The ad program, called “The Real Cost,”(Time.com, Health & Family Feb 2014) is also focused on nicotine's addictive qualities, as the idea of quitting tobacco seems easy to most people.

“It's easy to quit smoking, I've done it a hundred times.” - Mark Twain

"When are you ever going to quit?" - Alexandrea Borst



That was five years ago, and come this spring, it will be three years since I quit smoking. I am not the only one who is happy about the healthy change. My friends enjoy the clean air, and my family looks forward to added years.

But it was not easy. Quitting was hard, I admit, and humbling to a man's machismo. Why is tobacco so hard for so many to give up? And is America doing enough to break such a bad habit? Because, make no mistake, America made the cigarette cool.

Now, as we come to our senses regarding cigarettes, it is important to ask, "How can we lower the numbers of young people that try smoking?"

According to the Centers For Disease Control(CDC), almost 20% of American adults smoke. The sheer influence in those numbers, cannot be denied. If 1 in 5 adults are smokers, expect kids to smoke. Period.

The CDC(cdc.gov) stats on teen smoking looks scary, and by the age of 18, the adult percentage is almost established(17.1%). The CDC, in a data report on teen smokers, ages 14-18 showed a regular smoker rate of over five percent. 1 in 20 kids are regular tobacco smokers in the U.S., and one might wonder, where are they buying their habit? Stores? Convenience markets? Cigarette outlets? Parents? Friends?

The list goes on...

The Commuter piece, also quoted LBCC Security as stating that “fires from cigarettes regularly start in garbage cans.” And a decade ago, the college lost a building to a trash can fire, although cigarettes were never blamed. This illustrates the non-health issues of smoking, and is mostly common sense.

The common sense says that taxing smokers is okay. It also says that we may need to hold smokers accountable, in the wake of litter, second hand smoke, and soaring health costs.

But I am more concerned with health, and education. If the FDA recognizes that educating kids about “the real cost” of tobacco, is a worthy approach, then maybe the rest of us can too, realize the virtues of not smoking.

Works Cited:

Centers For Disease Control, cdc.gov, Youth and Tobacco

The Commuter, To Smoke Or Not To Smoke, Allison Lamplugh, 2-5-14

Statesman Journal, State Bans Smoking At State Parks, Zach Urness, Feb 2014

Time Magazine, The FDA's Frightening Anti Smoking Campaign, Alexandra Sifferlin, Feb 2014