There is a growing fad on campus that needs to be put to rest. No, I do not mean the fanny packs that the sorority girls have been sporting or the “Never Lost A Party” tailgating tanks everyone had to have, but something far more dangerous. This disgusting, dirty trend has been spreading its way through Bloomington and right into my nostrils. So what makes my skin crawl and my lungs ache you may ask? Cigarettes.
In the 21st century, I find it ridiculous that cigarettes are still around. While some of our grandparents and maybe even parents have already developed an addiction for these death sticks, I find it inexcusable that the youth of our time doesn’t know better. We’ve seen the commercials; we know the facts – yet somehow I am still choking on the fumes of smoke that are blowing through campus. Maybe I am being too judgmental, but I believe that one of the main reasons for the spread of this dirty habit is the “look” of the smoker.
We are all guilty of it. When I see Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City smoking a cig, I think she looks pretty cool. The media turns this deathly addiction into a sexy accessory, making those who watch smokers also want to smoke. If they showed Carrie coughing after every puff or developing cancer, it would probably take the allure of cigarettes away. However, the media tends to leave out the truth: Cigarettes can, and in many cases will, lead to cancer.
A smoker’s rebuttal: many things that people do cause cancer. While this argument is true, why am I not writing about tanning beds? I can throw some statistics at you like tobacco causes 30% of all cancer deaths and is responsible for 87% of cases of lung cancer, but the real reason why this trend makes me so mad is simple: it is literally being thrown, or for that matter blown, in my face. I will be the first person to say to someone to live his or her own life the way they choose. But when I am gagging on the smoke of the person walking in front of me in the arboretum, it gets personal. Which brings me to my last smoker pet peeve: the freshmen boys that smoke.
You just got to college, away from the grasp of your controlling parents hands, and you decide what better way to look cool and rebel then light up? Well freshmen boys, the joke is on you. Every single time my friends and I walk into McNutt passed the tables full of smoking boys, we cannot help but roll our eyes. Whether they admit it or not, they think they look cool. Harsh truth: they look like immature freshmen boys. Even harsher, by senior year most of them will be addicted to this trend and be on his way down the road of future health problems.
Everyone can relate to the thrill of doing something you aren’t supposed to do. Whether you are sneaking out to go to a party or waiting until the absolute last minute to do your homework, there is a certain rush that cannot fully be explained. I am here to tell you to find that rush in something that won’t make your lungs black and your parents disappointed. It sounds unrealistic to even ask for a Tobacco Free IU, but my hope is that if enough people can put the message out there that smoking isn’t cool, cigarettes will eventually burn out for good.