Recent tobacco lawsuits have darkened the already gloomy gap between the world of smokers and non-smokers, and both sides pledge their firmness like a religion.

Eight students who smoke shared their opinions about and problems with being campus smokers.

Smoking locations on campus are limited.

The Maintenance Shop in the Memorial Union is the only indoor area in which smoking is allowed.

Many students, faculty and staff do their smoking outside buildings.

However, there are some who would like to ban smoking on campus due to litter and pollution issues.

Of the interviewed students who smoke, many said smoking on campus was not a problem or the problem was the lack of smoking areas.

Shannon Onst, a junior in political science, said she did not personally think there was a smoking problem on campus.

However, she said some of her non-smoking friends might think there is a problem.

As far as smoking in public places, most smokers interviewed thought it should be allowed, or they said the smoke did not bother them.

“It’s fine if there’s a designated area,” Katie Sand, a senior in English, said. “I don’t freak out if I can’t smoke. It’s not that big of a deal.”

Acceptance by non-smokers is not a large concern for most students.

Some said they are somewhat accepted by non-smoking peers, while others said they are perceived by non-smokers as dirty and smelly.

“Usually I don’t think other students mind, but to some it’s a nuisance and they aren’t afraid to let you know by their looks or intentionally fake coughing loudly in your direction,” Amenda Tate, a junior in fine arts, said.

“I feel some really don’t mind it,” Onst said. “But there are some who give me the looks like, ‘yuck, your smoke is bothering me,’ but that doesn’t bother me.”

The age most of the students started smoking ranged from 12 to 20 years old.

Most said they began smoking at about 16 years old.

All said that most of their friends smoke.

Only four of the students’ parents knew they smoked and only two smoke in front of their parents.

Over half of the students said if they were parents they would try to talk their own children out of smoking.

Ditching the habit

“I don’t think I’d encourage it,” Tate said. “I will quit before I have children.”

As for ditching the habit, most admitted they would like to quit, or have tried and started again.

“I feel I will want to quit once I’m out of college,” Onst said, “I have tried to quit and it lasted about one and one-half weeks.”

One way of quitting that is available on campus is the non-smoking clinic.

The clinic is an American Lung Association sponsored program offered once a semester by the Student Health Center.

When asked whether or not they might be interested in a program for quitting, the students said they were either thinking about it for the future or not thinking about it at all.

The program is based on positive reinforcement and not bogged down by negative images, program officials said.

“You make your own choice,” said Linda Dutton, co-facilitator of the stop smoking group. “You make a choice to smoke or not smoke. No one is going to make you quit and no one is going to make you buy cigarettes.”

Dutton said she was a smoker for several years before she quit. Now she can sympathize with smokers and understand the struggle to quit.

Many non-smokers have only a faint idea about what it means to be addicted to cigarettes, she said.

All but one of students interviewed said they were addicted to nicotine.

They said it was annoying to hear lectures about the danger of cigarette smoking from non-smoking friends.

“To each their own. Being a preacher pisses people off and makes them smoke for spite,” Sand said.

“We all know smoking is bad. You’d have to be an idiot not to know that. Telling smokers the dangers of smoking is pointless,” she said. “Like someone’s going to go, ‘Wait … so smoking is bad for me? Thank god someone finally told me! You saved my life!'”

It may not save everyone’s life to know smoking is bad, but even light smokers can suffer from smoking ailments.

According to the American Lung Association, smoking can affect ears and sinus pathways, cause cavities in teeth, heart palpitations, an increased amount of throat and lung infections and dizziness.

The Stop Smoking Program is available each semester. This semester’s session is currently in progress.

The program is $20 with a $10 refund for perfect attendance. Contact Randy at the Student Health Wellness Center at 294-1868.