Thursday, January 21, 2010
Marlboro, Camel, Parliament, American Spirit. All these recognizable cigarette brands can currently be purchased from the Hawk Shop in the Kansas Union. Today, the Board of Regents will consider banning the sale of tobacco products on university campuses.
Reader poll
Do you think universities should sell tobacco products on campus?
- Yes 25% 9 votes
- No 63% 23 votes
- Not sure 0% 0 votes
- Indifferent 11% 4 votes
36 total votes.
Although all students have the right to choose whether to smoke, the University should not be profiting from a product that is damaging to the students it is here to serve. The Regents should vote in favor of banning tobacco sales from university campuses.
Removing cigarettes from campus will not take away the right to choose whether to smoke. It will simply show that the University does not profit from a choice that is a health risk to students.
The money from the Hawk Shop goes directly back into the Union, which is an affiliate of the University. Although it is separate, some of the Union’s profits are used for student activities and go back to the University for programs such as new student orientation.
In a Kansan editorial from February 2009, David Mucci, director of KU Memorial Unions, said the profits from tobacco sales did not represent a substantial sum.
“We’re not afraid to lose the money,” said Mucci.
Losing this small amount would not hurt the University financially which lends even greater support for the ban.
In an obvious paradox, not only can students buy cigarettes on campus, they can also receive assistance to quit smoking through a Student Health Services’ program called Kan-U-Quit at Watkins Health Center. The University has recognized the problem but is still selling the product causing it.
As a leader in education and progress, the University should not benefit from or support a product that is ultimately a heath risk for students. Having tobacco products behind the counter is condoning and enabling the habit. Though the choice to smoke remains in the hands of the student, the Regents will be making the right decision in removing Kansas universities from association with tobacco sales.
Call the Board of Regents today to support the ban: 785-296-3421
— Caitlin Thornbrugh for The Kansan Editorial Board
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Comments
Editorial: Tobacco ban should pass
This is a relatively small issue, since the cigarettes at the union (like every thing else there) are way overpriced. I get the picture that the government is trying to discourage smoking, but I always thought that the decision to smoke or not to smoke was something individual people should make on a case-by-case basis.
Either way, this just seems like the first step in permabanning smokers from Kansas University.
Editorial: Tobacco ban should pass
its a good thought,i used to smoke till my doctor said to quit or die,i quit. i suppose if i could not buy them i would also quit
Editorial: Tobacco ban should pass
Here's another obvious paradox. The university offers hamburgers, fries, pizza, chick-fil-a, crunchy chicken cheddar wraps, but they also offer a rec center to help people lose weight and get in shape. The university has recognized the problem (obesity) and yet it supplies the product causing it. . .
Come on. And don't say, "oh that's not even the same thing, cigarettes can kill you!" Do you know what the number one cause of death is in America? Do you know what causes it . . . .
Editorial: Tobacco ban should pass
Here we go again! We see this debate every year.
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