Column by Jacob Sims

I have to admit that I am personally embarrassed by UK President Lee Todd’s proposed tobacco ban. Obviously, it’s no secret that I am vehemently against the ban but it’s not because I smoke (I don’t) or that I support “Big Tobacco.” As I have explained to several individuals, I don’t really have a dog in the fight.

As a side note, the proposed ban doesn’t technically change anything, for now. The way I understand it is that you can still smoke, dip, or however you use tobacco on campus. As of now, I don’t believe there is any enforcement. That is, unless they decide to fine students who violate their policy, like Parking and Transportation Services.

Many students and I have tried —through several venues — setting up a public forum for the student population to ask questions to whoever they sent to represent the ban. They wouldn’t agree to it.

As I touched on in my first column about the tobacco ban, a reasonable compromise would have been smoking sections. Of course, silly me. I should have known better than to assume the administration gives a damn about our opinions or even hearing what we have to say, as many have found out.

To me, this ban and this paternal mentality is beyond the health concerns. We know that tobacco is bad. As I mentioned in my first tobacco column,

“These points have been hammered into our thick skulls since elementary school by our parents, teachers and the media. And just in case we completely zoned out in school and didn’t listen to our parents or the media, the Surgeon General places some form of warning on all tobacco products informing the public that ‘Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and may complicate pregnancy.’ They also warn us that ‘Cigars are not a safe alternative to cigarettes, cigars may cause lung cancer and heart disease,’ and that Smokeless Tobacco ‘may cause mouth cancer’ or ‘may cause gum disease and tooth loss.’ Surely to God, we get the point.”

Using tobacco is our choice. It’s the same with food and other activities we choose to partake in. In my “Nanny State” article last year, I gave a great example of the way this mentality has been implemented: “One of the most comical bans is in Los Angeles, when they banned “Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs.”

As Terrence Powell of the L.A. County Health Department stated, “Bacon is a potentially hazardous food.” And what is the consequence if you are found selling this “hazardous food”? The government charges a $1,000 fine or up to six months in jail if you don’t go through the bureaucratic red tape of attaining three different permits and purchasing a $26,000 city-approved street cart. It’s a good thing L.A. doesn’t have to worry about crimes such as robbery, rape and murders, so they can focus on the bacon dog offenders.”

I don’t want to limit this to food because the scope of this mentality is way beyond food and tobacco. You name it and it has probably had a ban on it or at least been proposed. Gambling, prostitution, fireplaces, coffee on subways, trans-fats (chips, French fries, cookies), saggy pants, fruity alcoholic beverages, keg stands, beer pong at tailgates, table dancing, cussing, pit bulls, books with gay and lesbian characters, Skittles and pigeons are just a few examples. It’s a shame they couldn’t outlaw stupidity.

As Will Rogers once famously stated, “I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.” The same would apply to UK’s administration, I would imagine.

The ban itself, as well as this “Nanny” mentality, has or normally has admirable intentions.

However, beyond being embarrassing for the governed, it deliberately limits our freedom of choice. Using tobacco and where we use tobacco (assuming we followed the compromise of outside smoking sections) is a choice that is ours; not the administration’s. To me, it doesn’t make much sense that we elect individuals so that they can make laws to protect us from ourselves. Or in the case of the paternal administration, we don’t even have a say in the matter. It’s just a good thing we have Papa Todd and Mama Hahn to take care of us since we aren’t smart enough to know any better.