Tobacco ban should pass
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.
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.
