NY State Considers Smoking Ban in Residence Halls

The State of New York may bann smoking in all college and university residence halls and dormitories, according to a news story. The ban would come through an amendment to New York's Clean Indoor Air Act. The amendment has passed the state legislature and awaits the signature of Governor Dave Patterson. (Note: the link says he is Lt. Governor, but the page is out of date... Patterson took over as Governor earlier this year following the resignation of Elliot Spitzer who resigned in shame following a prostitution scandal.) While all State University of New York campuses banned smoking in their residence halls nearly a year ago after their Board of Trustees approved a policy, the amendment to the Clean Indoor Air Act, which has passed the state legislature, will affect all institutions, public and private.

The article cites two students who support the change:

Adrianne Harding, 21, a senior at Pace University's Pleasantville campus, said yesterday that she supports the ban.

"I would agree with it. I'm asthmatic, so when other people smoke, it affects me," said Harding, who is studying for a degree in nursing. "Even if they are across the hall, the smoke seeps through the door and comes into my room. I don't understand how people can smoke cigarettes in the dorms but can't light candles. They should definitely ban it. I don't think it's fair."

Jose Caceres, 23, who graduated this summer with a bachelor's degree in computer science and plans to pursue a master's in business, agreed.

"I think it's a good idea. Secondhand smoking is one of the largest killers," he said. "I used to have a roommate who smoked a lot, and it's absolutely a problem. It's very unhealthy, and I prefer if no one smoked around me."

The bill would put the legal burden on the institutions, with institutions having a residence hall in violation being fined up to $2,000. Most likely, if the bill passes, institutions that currently allow smoking in residence halls will ban it and students who violate the rules will have fines passed onto them.

The biggest reason for the amendment other than secondhand smoke is fire safety:

Additionally, the bill aims at reducing the number of dorm fires, Paulin said.

In the past 10 years, two college residential hall fires in the state have resulted in fatalities, which Paulin said was "two too many."

While in Massachusetts there is no law about smoking in residence halls, nor is one working through the legislature, Northeastern prohibits smoking in all residence halls. However, 15 years ago this wasn't the case. At one point, there was only one residence hall that was smoke free. The Resident Student Association in the 1990s worked to expand the number of smoke free residence halls on campus, passing legislation which was signed into action. Additionally, Northeastern President John A. Curry approved a policy prohibiting smoking in academic and administrative space on campus. Eventually, in the early 2000s, smoking was prohibited in all residence halls. While on occasion there are students who ask for the policy to be changed, the majority of students support the prohibitions on smoking in the residence halls because of the issues realted to secondhand smoke and the increased fire risk. Also, rooms or buildings with smokers cost more money to maintain as the walls must be painted more often and furniture replaced more frequently due to the negative impact of smoke. Given these reasons, RSA still supports current policies. Of course, in the event that student views changed and a majority of students wanted smoking to be allowed in the residence halls, we in the Resident Student Association would advocate for a policy change.