Should Smoking be Prohibited on Campus - Speech or Presentation Example

The debate of whether or not to ban smoking on campus has been there for quite a while, particularly since the start of the 21st century. Seeing more and more college campuses putting bans on smoking presently creates a huge debate platform for both defenders and proponents. While some think that such campus smoking bans mostly remain effective on certain levels in discouraging the newly independent college students to continue smoking, critics claim that college smoking bans are a product of pure authoritative rule under which no individual freedom is allowed.

According to latest report, all campuses of University of California will be banning smoking as a result of which every campus would become smoke-free over the course of two years as the UC President compelled the chancellors of all the campuses nationwide to begin implementing smoke-free policies (Rojas, 2012). Discussion of causes: Defenders of campus smoking bans claim that smoking practices on campus seriously interfere with a healthy educational atmosphere and if such bans are taken seriously by more and more management authorities and strictly implemented, vivid changes can be seen happening in favor of mental and physical wellbeing of the students. . s, to break free from the spell of conservative norms they are taught by their parents at homes which is why they fall for heaving smoking while absolutely disregarding the sanctity of their educational institution.

Because continuing smoking habit on campus can potentially fuel a student’s mind to develop vast distance between him/herself and abiding by the educational requirements, so smoking should be absolutely banned on campus according to defenders of ban imposition. Campus smoking bans are not very old because it was not before 2000 that smoking-free campuses began surfacing in America. From this, it can be ascertained that smoking-free colleges are essentially a consequence of an increase in the health awareness and consciousness in the educated society which has occurred in the 21st century.

The smoke-free spree was fuelled by the fact that no one could pass in or out of a door on any campus without going through a corridor fraught with smoke (Patterson, cited in Steinberg, 2011). Students began smoking on campus in such a staggering number that it raised huge concern for the education, health and mental wellbeing of a student which is why smoking bans are getting more and more common with every passing day. Colleges that have imposed the ban on smoking should continue with the ban because it is one of the most important health concerns.

Smoking is potentially dangerous for health as it is known to be a cause of several diseases that include but are not limited to oral cancer, lungs cancer and heart attack. Smoking in colleges should be prohibited also because smoking happens to be the first step in the way towards drug addiction for a lot of students. Being young and immature, students start exploring the world of narcotics and drugs starting from smoking