Smoking Prohibited

By Kelly Allen

One by one, ash trays disappeared. Fliers were put up around campus, and smoking
became prohibited.

Rachel Oehlke, a sophomore, said most of the smokers she knows are ashamed to be
seen smoking, which goes to show that even the smokers agree that they shouldnt be
doing it.

Smoking has changed from attractive to unappealing because being healthy has be-
come the new cool, Oehlke said.

Over the past decade, smoking among students at the University of Minnesota has de-
creased. Since 1980, smoking rates are down more than 50 percent.

According to Boyntons College Student Health Survey, 13.4 percent of students used
tobacco last year compared to 15.4 percent of students in 2013.

Part of the decrease in smoking among students may be traced to the Universitys
smoke- and tobacco-free policy. But other factors are at play. Students say it has be-
come less socially acceptable for people to smoke cigarettes because they are more
aware of the health risks related and more sensitive to price.

Amy ODriscoll, a sophomore, said she finds smoking to be disgusting and doesnt think
people look cool when they do it.

Honestly, I feel like the decrease could be because there are other drugs available to
people that theyd rather do instead, ODriscoll said. But, I also feel like there is a lot
more research on it that scares people.

Annie Burdick, a junior, agrees. I think people are much more interested in drinking or
drugs now as vices to get social acceptance, Burdick said.

Burdick said she thinks smoking is acceptable in some social circles, but the smokers
she knows are using e-cigarettes to cut down or quit because the awareness of risks in-
volved has gone up.

Statewide laws have contributed to the decline in smoking along with the change in so-
cial norm. According to a 2013 survey report by Boynton Health Service (BHS), the
Freedom to Breathe Act, enacted in 2007, prohibited smoking in bars, restaurants,
workplaces, and indoor public places.

Chloe Herzog, a sophomore, said she thinks smoking is acceptable depending on the
community and location people are in. I do occasionally smoke cigarettes, but I dont
think its acceptable to smoke in a crowd or in a restaurant, Herzog said.
In 1998, Minnesota reached a settlement agreement with the tobacco industry that pro-
hibited the marketing of tobacco products to minors.

Randy Rehbein, a junior, said there has been more exposure to the effects of smoking
through television commercials that aim to scare people away from smoking instead of
promoting it.

Anti-smoking commercials are more common these days, Kendra Moran, a sophomore,
said. I've never had any sort of exposure to marketing of cigarettes or tobacco that en-
courages people to use them, Moran said.

The settlement in Minnesota not only ordered tobacco giants from targeting minors, but
it ended paid product placement in movies and brought down all tobacco billboards. In
the agreement, the state of Minnesota received $6.6 billion to be paid over the first 25
years, and about $200 million annually thereafter.

Not only have smoking-prohibited locations and the settlement helped fuel the de-
crease, but smoking a pack of cigarettes a day isn't something many students can af-
ford. Students are much more sensitive to pricing, and the activity doesnt come cheap,
Dr. Russell Luepker, a professor of epidemiology and community health at the Univer-
sity, said.

In January of 2016, the price of tobacco products in Minnesota increased with the ciga-
rette excise tax rate at 15 cents per cigarette and the sales tax at 54.3 cents per 20-
pack, putting the average price per pack at about $8.42.

On top of statewide laws and the changing social norm, the smoke- and tobacco-free
policy on campus has educated students and forced smokers to hide or go off-campus,
Luepker said.

He said the decrease in smoking has been noticeable. We used to have people around
the hospital having one more cigarette before they went into the clinic and told their doc-
tor they quit smoking, Luepker said. You dont see that anymore.