This post was written by freshman Landon Elkind.
Across the street opposite the main entrance of Thurston, children run around on the playground while waiting for their parents to finish work. You might have noticed on the way to class the rope-lines of toddlers ambling down the street with concerned caretakers keeping watch. “Where did they come from?” you might ask. The answer: they are the children of employees at the World Bank – and students should think of them before deciding to light up a cigarette in front of Thurston.
The Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Surgeon General, National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society all agree that secondhand smoke correlates with – and perhaps causes – higher incidence of cancer, lung disease and cardiovascular problems. “7,500 to 15,000” children “…under 18 months hospitalized annually,” according to a tally by the American Cancer Society. The National Cancer Institute notes second-hand smoke carries “at least 250 harmful [chemicals]…50 of which cause cancer.” Cigarettes pose a health hazard to children in addition to infants. This exposure causes numerous side effects, including “severe asthma attacks” and “slowed lung growth.”
The result of these studies has been legislative outcry and a plethora of new laws prohibiting smoking in public areas. The Washington Post reports the D.C. Council is currently mulling over legislation empowering business owners to ban cigarettes and cigars within 25 feet of their restaurant. This follows Rockville’s recent ban on smoking within 40 feet of a park playground. These developments have not satisfied some anti-smoking advocates. Bob Summersgill of Smokefree D.C. claims D.C.’s proposal “doesn’t go far enough. In California, they don’t allow smoking on beaches or [in] public parks.”
In the midst of this, one might wonder about the 25 feet and 40 feet of Rockville and D.C. How far exactly is the playground from Thurston? This writer took a measure by walking toe-to-heel across the street – the playground is approximately 67 feet from Thurston.
Presumably, you can smoke, if you decide that your fellow college students should take the carcinogens on your behalf, and that you absolutely cannot wait to inhale sweet relief from your very stressful day. However, I might only ask – do consider the World Bank babies. Perhaps take a walk around the corner. Avoid exposing the kids to second-hand smoke when they play outside.
