The Insiders
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Apr
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An Ideological Crusade (or, a gross waste of my tax dollars)
Posted by: Neal Yonson | April 1, 2007 | 7 Comments
So, the Provincial Government is planning to implement a tobacco free campus initiative, and certain members of campus are just too overjoyed at this.
I currently sit on the committee which looks at Policy 15, which will be drastically revised to ban all sales of tobacco and tobacco related products from campus grounds. (Do I smell a lawsuit from Shoppers?)
Forgetting about the tyrannical aspect of this legislation for a second here, I simply do not see the point of its existence. This whole project only works if you presume that a smoker will quit smoking if this policy/and Provincial legislation is put in place. If there are people who actually believe this is going to follow, enlighten me as to how.
From my experience we will always find out where we can get smokes, even if we have to hop on a 17 and run to Safeway on Sasamat. So the whole effect of this is merely a redistribution of wealth to outside of the borders of campus grounds, and potential loss of a leases in the Student Union Building (ie Lucky Market) and University Boulevard (Shoppers). Well, maybe not Shoppers. Oh by the way, this will not make us stop smoking. Any arguments of trying to protect the non-smokers from second hand smoke therefore quickly degenerate.
This ideological crusade is a feeble attempt secondary to violating an individual’s liberty. And it will also only pass legislature because the smoking population (15%) is a minority in BC. If this had applied to alcohol, there would be much greater objection.
Nevertheless, my final point is this: while we are driven by this benevolent mission to rescue people from their obvious health catastrophe (oh let me be your saviour, you misguided lamb), the very UBC members spearheading this with valor are conveniently forgetting the fact that their very pension plan is heavily invested in tobacco companies. While their entire life mission may be to make people quit smoking on campus, what they fail to address is their own deeply rooted systemic reliance on Tobacco companies.
(Timeline: this is going to Board on May 7, circulated around the community for “consultation”, and then voted on at the next Board meeting.)
Comments
7 Comments so far
Um, isn’t it a good thing that they’re not being beholden to their pension obligations? Shouldn’t they be ignoring their pension funds’ holdings while making campus decisions?
Seems sensible to me.
I should also add that your “rational connection” point holds. But I see this potential measure as a necessary step towards making it a smoke-free campus. The idea isn’t to get people to stop smoking, it’s to get them to stop smoking on campus.
No student will leave campus just to buy smokes then return, unless they’re in res. If a student runs out, they’ll just wait until they leave. A smoke-free campus isn’t unreasonable, and this is a necessary step. (I should also add that in that context, the alcohol analogy fails, since second-hand exposure to smoke can, you know, kill you.)
The other thing you forgot to mention is the UNA, and all the new residents of University town. Will the smoke-free status apply to the residential homes? Will the new supermarket designed to serve 30,000 people be banned from selling smokes?
Gina, but as a society we make collective decisions about how we all live. Those decisions are inherently ideological, almost regardless of what they adress. Most people think it’s a good idea to discourage smoking, period, since it’s a health risk and costs alot of money. Other legislation that makes smoking less convenient and less socially acceptable (like no smoking in bars and restaurants) has created a climate that confirms that smoking is basically not a right that’s highly valued in our community. Making it illegal to buy smokes on campus is just another step on the path to the marginalization of the practice, and that’s the point. It’s consistent with the banning of smoking in all public places, which has already been enacted in some places. This may seem heavy-handed and ideological to you, but if we as a society create and condone that ideology, it’s probably the “right” move.
it’s to get them to stop smoking on campus.
No student will leave campus just to buy smokes then return, unless they’re in res. If a student runs out, they’ll just wait until they leave.
Is the Student Lucky Market in the Village still on campus property??
Gina: No.
I know Gavin ;)
That was my way of dismantling the – less people will smoke on campus argument. I don’t doubt that everyone’s going to run to the Student Lucky Market for smokes.
Even if the signs will be hidden under the counter now – we know where to get the goods.
ok, first off, im all for smoking. it tastes good, pairs well with a nice beer, and makes you die faster.
cutting through the propaganda, i do understand who the tobacco free campus initiative is trying to protect. they say it is about the smokers, but it is really about the rights of the self-righteous and health-conscious (i distinguish between both groups) to not have to see/walk past any smokers, ever.
If a student runs out, they’ll just wait until they leave.
no, theyll try to bum them from me. and ill say yes. and then ill run out, and ill bum them from someone else. then we will secretly go smoke them at all those places we smoke the stuff that is already nominally illegal on campus.
who is going to police this, anyway?