When taking into consideration the apparent evidence that nothing positive will occur within your body after taking a drag from your cigarette, it can be concluded that the advantages of smoking are far and few between. 

Although a motion has been passed by the SGA, it still needs to be passed by several other committees before it can be placed into effect. The SGA hopes to incorporate explicit locations where students will be permitted to smoke.  

The many advantages that WKU could gain from this motion are countless.  The overall health of WKU’s students, faculty and community would improve with the passing of this resolution. Assuming the designated smoking sites would possess trash receptacles providing proper disposal of cigarette butts, communal campus space would be cleaner.  

While this proposal would obviously benefit the non-smokers on campus, it also has the potential to gradually decrease the number of smokers as well. Given that there would be specified sites that people wishing to smoke must acquiesce to, smoking would go from being casual to inconvenient. This inconvenience may drive people away from their urges to smoke due to the amount of effort one cigarette requires. 

Students who have made the decision to smoke should not subject students who have made the choice not to smoke to toxins that are exposed through secondhand smoke. According to the College Tobacco Prevention Resource, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has categorized secondhand smoke as a “Group A” carcinogen. Aside from the harmful effects, it is impolite to smoke around people when you do not know how cigarette smoke may affect them physically. 

Smoking is a harmful choice that affects everyone exposed. The resolution passed by the SGA has my support, seeing as it could only benefit our community here at WKU.