Digest #29: This Month in Smoke-free News

How Not to Protest a College Smoking Ban
Step 1: Announce that you oppose the college smoking ban on grounds of individual liberty and freedom of choice, but that you don't encourage cigarette smoking.
Step 2: Hand out free cigarettes to students.

Believe it or not, this is what the Students for Liberty at Scottsdale Community College did near my hometown of Phoenix last month. Self-contradiction clearly isn't not going to be successful. But, thank you, Students for Liberty of SCC, for failing miserably in your attempt to protest the impending smoking ban at all Maricopa Community Colleges--and for giving me the opportunity to reference your idiocy for comic relief. Go Fighting Artichokes!

Big News in Texas
As I anticipated, I am happy to share that the University of Texas, the fifth largest public university in the nation, will soon be smoke-free. UT-Austin passes the University of Florida as the largest university in the country to have a smoking ban. It sounds like all tobacco will be banned in order to comply with the requirements imposed by the Cancer Research Prevention Institute of Texas, which has given the school tens of millions of dollars of research funds. Though the decision to ban tobacco on campus was clearly a result of the threat of losing future funding, it makes me wonder about other foundations that fund university research and whether or not we'll see similar grant-making policy changes.

Meanwhile, the city of Fort Worth is considering an employee tobacco ban. In other words, the city won't hire tobacco users--quite possibly by screening for cotinine in blood samples. One long-time city employee and smoker said, "I feel like the next thing they want to do is take DNA samples to figure out if anybody is going to have any kind of diseases going forward." Although he makes a good point, smoking is a choice at its core, whereas most diseases are rarely the direct outcomes of choices. Still, as I've said before, I'm reluctant to endorse such measures outside of healthcare or educational settings because I actually do value freedom of choice and individual liberty--just not when choices negatively impact others in such a direct way like that of secondhand smoke. But hey, I'm not exactly going to protest them, either.

A Jewish Ban on Tobacco?

Thanks to Google Alerts, I ran across an article that really grabbed my attention. According to The Jewish Weekly, “there is an increasing consensus that Jewish law prohibits smoking.” For those who take the time to read my blog on a somewhat regular basis, you’ll know that I’ve never incorporated religious teachings into my posts—so this may seem a bit out of left field. Nevertheless, since it’s my blog and I was raised Jewish, I’ll proceed to share excerpts of what I’ve read:

“This follows from a Torah commandment to live a healthy life (Deuteronomy 4:15). Even before it was clear that smoking posed great health risks, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein said that smoking was a prohibition based on Numbers 15:39: ‘You shall not stray after your heart and after your eyes’ (Iggerot Moshe, CM 2:76, YD 3:35); and that secondhand smoke is a form of damage upon another (CM 2:18)”

“The prohibition on smoking does not only apply to individuals, but also to society. The Rambam taught that ‘Concerning any obstruction that is life-threatening, there is a positive commandment to remove it and protect against it and to be exceedingly careful concerning it’ (Hilkhot Rotzeiah 11:45).” 

“Smokers today should be viewed as ‘cholim’ (sick individuals) who we must heal. One cannot claim that ‘freedom and liberty’ allows them to increase their burden on the health care system or bring harm to family members, coworkers, and strangers.” 

“Due to the injunction to ‘not put a stumbling block before the blind’ (Leviticus 19:14), one must do everything possible to ensure that others are prevented from accessing the lethal object of a cigarette. Rabbi HaLevi argues that it is a chillul Hashem (desecration of God’s Name) to smoke, since the enlightened world knows how harmful it is, and Jews should not be seen doing foolish things (3:18). By this reasoning, it is also a kiddush Hashem (sanctification of G-d’s Name) to be on the front lines of banning cigarettes from society.” 

That last part is comforting seeing that I’ve generally lost touch with my Jewish roots since my Bar Mitzvah. Anyway, I don’t know what the smoking rate is among Jews—or any people who abide by religious law for that matter—but I would imagine that it’s relatively low. For as many people there are who write off religion these days for being too romantic and unscientific, it is certainly interesting to learn how practical and logical some of the teachings can be.

Other News

• Because I like to follow up on topics I’ve written about previously for the sake of “testing” my hypotheses or predictions about the future of smoke-free law and policy, I want to note that there is now data available that shows how the economics of smoke-free housing is playing out. According to a survey conducted by the New York City Coalition for a Smoke-free City, 58% of New Yorkers would paymore to live away from smokers. Of course, now the question becomes, “How much more?” I suspect that we’ll know soon enough.
• New York will be creating smoke-free zones in state parks and historic sites, most notably around playgrounds and pools. While smoking won’t be entirely banned from these locations, it is interesting that the state has resolved to convert the six state parks within New York City to smoke-free parks—but only for sake of consistency with the city’s park smoking ban. One would think that it might be in the state’s interest to apply a consistent policy throughout, so it will be interesting to hear what criticism, if any, arises from this decision. Nevertheless, it’s a step in the right direction.
•  Just when I thought that I’ve written about smoke-free policies in every possible venue, I read that fifteen shopping malls across New York and Massachusetts will be tobacco-free, both indoors and outdoors by May 31. What’s key here is that malls are obvious candidates for smoke-free policies, yet this is the first time I’ve heard about a policy like this. So, I’m beginning to see how smoke-free policies are becoming “contagious”—not only in terms of the same type of establishments adopting them (e.g., universities), but also in terms of leaders of other establishments seizing the opportunity to modernize their venues.
• Good news: According to a study out of Scotland, pregnancies are more successful now that there has been a public smoking ban in place since 2006. Preterm deliveries dropped by over 10%, and the number of infants born disproportionately small dropped by 5%. Much of this is likely due to the drop in the prevalence of pregnant women who smoke—25.4% to 18.8%. However, the key finding, in terms of this blog, is that the reductions in preterm births and small babies occurred in both the smoking-mother population and and the non-smoking-mother population, which suggests that secondhand smoke was contributing to many of these unfortunate incidents.
• Students at football powerhouse Louisiana State University are collecting signatures in support of a tobacco-free campus. SmokingWords, the organization leading the charge, is appealing to both public health advocates and environmentalists by addressing the hazards of smoking/secondhand smoke as well as the litter problems that campus smoking causes. Great strategy.
• Although I don’t think I’ve mentioned it, Cal State Fullerton will be smoke-free by August 2013—the first (but certainly not the last) campus in the California State University system that has followed the example set by the University of California. My reason for sharing this news is to emphasize something that I don’t feel I spend enough time on: policy implementation—because getting the policy approved is really only half of the battle. According to this article, the school is taking steps to ensure that students and faculty are fully aware of the new policy, and that smokers have cessation resources available should they decide to quit. Hopefully, I’ll have more specifics to share on this important topic at a later time.
• On March 20, Indiana became the 38th state to ban smoking in most workplaces, yet Indianapolis already enacted a similar ban of its own.
•  The state of Maryland is one step closer to banning smoking in vehicles transporting children under 8 years of age--but doesn't 8 seem a bit arbitrary? Why should smoking in a car with a 9-year-old be acceptable? I couldn't imagine a worse birthday present than having my parents suddenly start smoking on the way to school. Since I'm on the topic, I’d like to take this opportunity to plug another Legacy Fellow’s local advocacy project: Project 1200.
• Finally, here’s something that I thought was bizarre or miscommunicated when I first read it: 65% of students surveyed at Vassar College do not favor a smoking ban. Although, I’m skeptical about these results, I’ve learned not to assume that the majority of students at a given college campus would favor a smoking ban.