Dear Editor,
After reading "Not this year, not this way," I realized that I disagree with the overall point, which is that educating the public about the dangers of cigarettes would be more effective than simply planting a thousand signs in the ground reading "UBreathe Free." I agree that education is important, but honestly, who hasn't been educated about the dangers of smoking cigarettes? We have known the dangers for decades! The dramatic price increases, the print, newspaper, and television advertisements, even the packs of cigarettes themselves that now clear as day say, "this product causes cancer." How much more educated do these people need to be? It's not some secret that cigarettes cause lung, throat, stomach, bladder, intestinal cancers, emphysema and premature aging. The list goes on and on, and the information is everywhere.
I think the problem is the smokers themselves. You could print all this information on a shiny flyer and tape it to their forehead. You could manufacture a pack of cigarettes that talks, so every time you pull out a cigarette, a voice would say, "this cigarette is going to kill you." Even a family member becoming sick or dying doesn't seem to help them change their perspective. I have seen with my own eyes an older married couple in which one partner is diagnosed with cancer caused by cigarette smoking, and the other continues to light up. They are still going to smoke, because they don't care what anybody says. They believe it is their right to smoke. I say, let them smoke. Let's even add cigarette vending machines all around campus. If they want it, let them have it. And have it they shall, as long as they stay at least 200 feet away from any building, car, or human being. Because just as they believe it is their right to smoke these cigarettes, I believe it is the right of non-smokers to not have to breathe it all in. So we need the signs to tell people where they need to go to smoke, because in my opinion, no matter how many facts you throw at some people, they are going to do what they want anyway.
Adam Graczyk
UB Student
