By Javier Lopez
Becoming a smoke-free campus is fundamental to the health of students at East Los Angeles College.
While ELAC aims to be a smoke-free campus, it has only been achieved in theory. There are “No-Smoking” signs all around ELAC, but they do not seem to be working.
The “No-Smoking” signs seem to be disregarded by students who smoke. Students who continue to smoke on campus make it that much harder to make ELAC a more environmentally friendly and healthier campus.
There are also many problems that are caused by smoking which affect everyone on campus.
Smoking puts the health of the smoker in danger and creates a toxic environment for students who do not smoke.
Students and faculty are forced to deal with the foul smell of cigarette smoke as they walk to class or around campus. This is unpleasant and dangerous to the health of those who are on campus.
According to Lung.org, 8.6 million people have to live with serious illnesses that are caused by smoking.
These illnesses include: lung cancer, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), heart disease, asthma and diabetes.
The website also states that 443,000 people die each year from smoking or from being exposed to secondhand smoke.
This situation becomes even more dangerous when it is taken into account that there are students at ELAC who have asthma and cannot be exposed to smoke.
If someone with asthma is around smoke, it could trigger an asthma attack and put their life in danger.
It is important to realize the severity of the effects that smoking on campus has. Smoking on campus affects the students and the staff’s health.
Smoking also has a direct affect on the environment. Medicalnewstoday.com states that pollution emitted by cigarettes is 10 times as much as diesel car exhaust pollution.
Creating a smoke-free campus at ELAC could be done. ELAC could create rules which make it illegal to smoke on campus.
Some rules could be not being no smoking on, or around campus.If caught smoking on campus once you would be given a warning. The second time would be a written warning.Tickets would be issued to continuing offenders.
These rules would be implemented by those who patrol the school.
ELAC could also host an event or have a stand where they make it clear that they are making ELAC a smoke-free campus. This would also promote the idea of a healthier and more environmentally friendly campus.
There could also be information given out to students on the dangers of smoking and all of the negative effects that smoking has.
This would improve the lives of students and possibly influence their decision to either stop or keep away from smoking.
It would be in the best interest of students, faculty and the environment to work towards making ELAC a smoke-free campus. It would be nice to say that ELAC had their part in promoting health and helping save the environment.