Smoking on campus

At Marietta, it's not uncommon to walk outside a dormitory into a haze of cigarette smoke. Because smoking has been banned in the buildings, students must sit outside to enjoy their cigarettes. According to campus rules, all smoking must take place at least 20 feet away from the building. Unfortunately for those of us who don't smoke, this is still close enough so that walking past the smokers leaves us smelling like the inside of a bowling alley (before the smoking ban, of course).

Surprisingly, the number of college students who smoke has decreased significantly and has now reached an all-time low. A Sept. 8 issue of the Wall Street Journal says that tobacco suppliers have stepped up their advertising to compensate. They aim to target high school and college students who are going through transitional periods, intending to make smoking appear as a viable way to deal with change. Hopefully, college students are intuitive enough to resist this ploy, leaving themselves (and the rest of us!) smelling fresh and seeing clearly.