Who
smoking really affects
Rachel
Moten, posted Sept. 26, 2006
“Smoke
free, breathe easy” is Boone County Coalition for Tobacco
Concern’s motto. In Columbia, the no smoking policy
has been implemented within several restaurants and hospitals
such as Applebee’s, Chipotle, Hardee’s, and Dairy
Queen. Secondhand smoke not only affects the smoker, but also
becomes harmful to non-smokers’ health.
On Friday,
Sept. 1, 2006, the Tobacco Health Care enacted the no smoking
policy at University Hospital. “The reason we instituted
this policy is we definitely care about the health of the
patients and employees, and of course the visitors,”
said Jeff Hoelscher, media coordinator at University Hospital.
Dean Anderson,
co-chair for Smoke-Free Air For Everyone, said “Health
care should have ethical and moral responsibilities to exercise
good healthy practices to clients and to the community. We
should set the standards for the community.”
According
to Campaign Tobacco for Free Kids in 2005, the effects of
secondhand smoke causes 850 to 1,540 deaths in Missouri each
year. To decrease the fatality rates in Missouri, the Student
Health Center spends over $400 million per year to recruit
new smokers to inform others about the effects of secondhand
smoking. The companies who sell smoking products are not going
to tell people about the consequences of smoking, but “Advertise
[the product] as if it makes you look sophisticated,”
said Anderson.
Not only
is the Student Health Center promoting the no smoking policy
on MU’s campus, but students, such as Domingo Pacheco,
vice president, and Rachel Anderson, president, of Peers Against
Secondhand Smoking promote their organization’s mission.
Domingo
said he is involved with this organization because he is interested
in the health side of the issue. Domingo said his dad, who
is an Oncologist, tells him all the time people will get cancer
because of smoking and those who work in smoking environments.
Pacheco
believes this policy is beneficial because it will “Cut
down on secondhand smoking for those who don’t smoke,
but choose to work in those environments. They are less likely
to be exposed to having respiratory problems.”
Anderson
shares the same ideas as Pacheco. She said “It’s
a huge step they’re [the hospitals] making to protect
patients, employees, and visitors, and also to improve the
health in general.”
The advantage
of banning smoking in restaurants is a lot of students work
there, so if smoking is banned, they would not have to go
to work and “Put their health at risk by being in a
smoking environment,” said Anderson.
Sam Digregorio,
a Campus Bar and Grill bartender, does not feel smoking should
be banned from restaurants with bars. “Bigger bars aren’t
that bad, they have a 20 foot ceiling where smoke gathers
there,” said Digregorio.
The Boone
County Coalition for Tobacco says the U.S. Department of Health
and Human services states non-smoking sections do not eliminate
non-smokers’ exposure to secondhand smoke, the smoke
knows no boundaries.
Digregorio
said he knows if the policy is passed, people will stop coming
to the restaurant and they will lose business. Customers will
not be content with this policy, “Probably only 10 percent
of cliental will be happy.”
Rusdy
Walos, general manager of Heidelberg, views the no smoking
policy in restaurants at a different angle. “It will
make life a lot easier because I won’t have to worry
about smoking and non-smoking sections or nicotine stains
on the walls.”
“Some
people don’t understand how dangerous secondhand smoking
is, and it should be everyone’s right to not to have
inhale secondhand smoke,” said Anderson.
Quick
Facts About Secondhand Smoking:
