Walking out of a building to only be hit with a puff of smoke, instantly making eyes water and throats sting, is typically how many spend their days walking out of academic buildings at Oswego State. Oswego State went smoke-free in 2015, which is a big drawing factor for student admission, but, as it turns out, the smoke-free policy is not enforced. Students know about the places to smoke where they will not get caught, including outside Lanigan, the side of the library, outside the Marano Campus Center and countless other places. Having a smoke-free campus presents an opportunity to educate students on the negative effects of tobacco as if the ads on TV of people speaking through an electrolarynx was not enough education. Many major medical reports came out in the 1950s and 60s confirming that tobacco caused a range of serious diseases. That should be enough to stop people from smoking, but instead, people are still smoking tobacco. People in Generation Z have all the more reasons to not smoke because of all the knowledge and testing that has been done proving how dangerous cigarettes are. When a cigarette burns, a cocktail of more than 5,000 chemicals, most linked to causing cancer, is released.

Oswego State needs to make these facts well known. Whether or not it will actually work and help those who are already addicted, who knows. It might just save the next person who is offered a cigarette and told it will relieve stress. They may think about all the carcinogens they are putting into their body and say no.

It may be nearly impossible to rid the world of smoking, but educating the students on our campus is the first step to creating a healthier community for all students and staff. The issue is especially problematic for students with tobacco allergies, to whom the enforcement of these policies matters greatly. The next time you pull out your toxins in a stick to put into your body and the air multiple other people breathe have the courtesy to move 10 feet away from an entrance of a building. Stop putting carcinogens into your body and releasing the chemicals into the air, and Oswego State, start enforcing your policy.