Smoke

Smokers' Fumes put a damper on the air

by Ashley Cook

managing editor

We have air quality days here in the city of St. Louis, telling us whether the day is a red (bad air) or a green (good air) day. Bi-State gives out those AQ (air quality) cards that allow the cardholder to ride public transportation for free that day in order to cut down the output of vehicle pollution. Citizens are asked to avoid filling up at the gas pump until after 5 p.m. Children and adults with respiratory difficulties are advised to stay indoors.
UM-St. Louis has an air quality problem that seems to get worse with each semester. I can't walk between buildings on this campus without the inevitable choking sensation of inhaling secondhand smoke from the student or faculty member walking in front of me, having a smoke while they meander to their destination.
My problem with them is that while they are enjoying the freedom to smoke tobacco if they so choose, at the same time they are infringing on my right to breathe clean air while I try to get to the TJ Library or to the Underground to meet a friend.
I am glad that campus buildings themselves are designated smoke-free, and while that makes being inside a relief for us non-smokers, it creates another problem, since we then have to run the gauntlent of entrance-door smokers, forcing us to decide whether or not to suffer through coughing out what smoke of theirs we've inhaled on the way in, or to risk passing out from holding our breath long enough to get inside the building.
Another unpleasant side effect of the numerous student smokers this campus has is the litter they create. By the end of each semester, you can't take one step between Lucas Hall and the Student Center without stepping on or over a cigarette butt.
For a generation that is supposed to be so concerned with both the environment and their health, UM-St. Louis students are showing a pretty poor lack of judgement in both instances.
Students should be issued an LQ (Lung Quality) card, allowing non-smokers some walkways free of smoke and trash, and giving smokers a route they can feel free to pollute all they wish.