Posted on 01/17/2011 12:09:29 PM PST by markomalley
Towson University first pushed its smokers out of campus buildings and into the great outdoors. Then, 30 feet away from buildings. Finally, last semester, it was off campus altogether.
Between classes, smokers rush to the state- or county-owned roads edging the Baltimore County campus. Not stepping off school property before lighting up can mean a $75 fine.
"On campus, it's a breath of fresh air - finally," said Steven Crudele, a former member of the student government who was part of the campus smoke-free task force. "When you are walking in and out of buildings, you don't have to walk through a cloud of smoke."
Towson is one of the first universities in the region to implement a strict, campuswide smoking ban. Similar initiatives are slowly picking up popularity at colleges across the country. Many university hospitals have such policies in place, as do several Maryland community colleges.
Such bans quickly clear the air at college campuses, allowing nonsmokers to study and learn, indoors and out, without the distraction or danger of secondhand smoke. The bans also try to speak directly to smokers, carrying the message that inhaling toxins is not healthy for anyone. That message is reinforced every time a smoker heads for the campus boundary.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Whatever.
“Smokers are not a protected class” -
Head of the Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination when asked to comment on the MassHospitalAssociation’s new policy of testing people for any nicotine - a doctor having an after dinner cigar - in their systems.
presence of any nicotine in your system whether you smoke at work on not - Fired!
BTW, you must’ve been enjoying your smoke - IMO, nothing upsets of the NannyNaziNags more than someone enjoying themselves as opposed to the furtiveness they would prefer.
IMO, one of the scarier comments I have heard from a public official. Symptomatic of an overweening bureacracy and a fascist totalitarian emphasis on individual and public health. - protected class, indeed.
Now we Americans are defined whether we are a protected class? Ya mean my swarthy status don’t count!
We banned smoking indoors here on campus. It worked great until the students figured out that marijuana produces smoke. Ooops. We have a whole bunch of unhappy students now.
Fookin nazi barstads.
There was a situation over the weekend where a lady fired one up on a bus. A security guard tackled her and wrestled her to the ground and cuffed her. Other passengers were appalled. Big Brother don’t like no smoking.
HEY! That smoke comes OUT OF YOUR CAR BUDDY and somebody ends up inhaling it.
Thousands of dollars. How hard is it to empty an ashtray, for pete’s sake. This constant harassment of smokers is ridiculous, and it isn’t going to end well. They’re not going to stop, so they’re just going to have to sneak, which they already do.
The streets in Oakland (small suburg) at the U of Pitt are all Pittsburgh property. Light up if you got em.
Great memories I have of bowling, drinking beer and smoking on a fraternity road trip to Towson State. Nobody died from second hand smoke, but I think 3 people were injured by my wayward 10 pound bowling balls.
Sorry about that.
This was under the Reagan administration so I think the statute of limitations expired.
Good times when this was a free country.
I hope that this University refuses any funding generated by tobacco sales.
“Now we Americans are defined whether we are a protected class? Ya mean my swarthy status don’t count!”
Since I’m a senior, still alive in spite of approx.60 years of smoking,I have some protection.
What astonishes me is that you could become blind drunk every night and show up for work in the A.M. and that would be acceptable but nicotine in your system wouldn’t be.
Hang in there-—swarthy may be included eventually. :-)
What a country—I’m glad I’m old enough to remember when it was truly free.
>blind drunk every night and show up for work in the A.M. and that would be acceptable
Not for long, I wager.
The new standards defined by the Medical Industry render our Founding Fathers a bunch of drunken tabakis.
No wonder the Constitution is outdated; it was composed by drunks.
Heck, I fully expect to see a virtual ban on public imbibing, a legislator in MA proposed a one drink limit for individuals out solo.......of course, one could conceivably careen from joint to joint, but MADD’s desire for breathalysers as standard on all cars would take care of that.
“a legislator in MA proposed a one drink limit for individuals out solo.......of course, one could conceivably careen from joint to joint”
And which one of our esteemed legislators did this?
Good old MA politics.
http://www.blackinformant.com/uncategorized/is-the-threat-of-second-hand-smoke-junk-science
A small percentage of people will bother to read the rebuttals to what may very well be junk science, and the powers that be surely know that, IMO.
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