Script Draft: Smoking Ban

I will first talk about the smoking ban and what it means for the ASU community. I chose this topic because this ban effects everyone at ASU. 

Beginning next summer, Arizona State will ban all tobacco products. Arizona State will ban tobacco on all four of their campuses. While this is a highly debated issue, the ban on tobacco products is good for the Arizona State community because it brings people together. Whether someone is in favor of the ban and intends to enforce the ban themselves, or is against the ban and protests it vehemently, both sides are joining together in the heated debate. I will then talk about the students who disagree with the ban. I will interview students that smoke and ones who do not, that disagree and will protest this ban. 

 The ban on tobacco has outraged a number of students who believe that smoking, while harmful, is their decision to make.

John: “Do you feel as if the smoking ban is good for the ASU community?”  

Karl: “I feel like I should be able to smoke even if it is harmful. I am an adult and should be able to choose to smoke or not.”

Students believe that the smoking ban is harmful for the ASU community because they believe it strips the students of their freedom. Students do not think the smoking ban is a moral issue and believe it is more about choice. Interview.

John: “Do you believe the smoking ban is a moral issue?” 

Karl: “No I believe the argument is about choice. Smoking is obviously bad for you but that does not mean that it should be outlawed. Eating Mcdonalds is unhealthy but that’s the consumers decision. Imagine Mcdonalds being outlawed. It would never happen.”

The Students for Liberty has protested the ban and gave out free cigarettes to people who would sign the petition to protest the ban. Students for Liberty used the phrase, “Smoke. Chew. It’s up to you.” The Students for Liberty is a perfect example of people coming together to protest the ban. Arizona State’s smoking community has gotten stronger because of the ban. 

Some students believe that the ban is wrong because it makes everyday citizens criminals. 

Makes everyday citizens criminals. The smoking ban has a lot of parallels to prohibition. Why ban something that everybody does? Why put people that smoke cigarettes into the same class as people who murder people and do far worse things. 

John: “How do you feel about the school putting a ban on cigarettes?”

Karl “I feel like the ban makes everyone criminals. I’m not a rapist. I’m not a bad person because I smoke cigarettes and do not want to be seen as one because I smoke.”

The smoking ban has strengthened the ASU smoking community but smokers are not the only ones who disagree with the ban on tobacco. 

John: “You don’t smoke Austin. How do you feel about this ban?”

Austin: “I have never smoked in my life but I disagree with this ban. People should at least have the option to smoke. Even though I hate the smell of smoke, it does not take away from the fact that they should be able to smoke. It’s not about if you think smoking is right or wrong because it is wrong. But it is about the students ability to choose if he wants to smoke or not.”

People that believe in the ability to choose have come together, whether they smoke or not. 

People who agree with the ban have come together as well. Students who are for the ban, believe that smoking should be banned because of health issues. There are many students who are afraid of the danger of second hand smoke. 

I will interview someone who is in favor of the ban and believes that the second hand smoke is too dangerous to have on campus. 

Many people believe that smoking should be outlawed because of the number of sick days that smoking creates. Attendance in college is important and smoking makes students more prone to sickness. (Put in interview of someone who has gotten sick a lot or missed classes because of heavy smoking)

The people (students and faculty) who believe that the ban is justified must come together if they hope to enforce the new law. The law is a “self-police” policy. The ASU police will not enforce the law. Students and faculty are asked to enforce the policy. Because the policy is not handled by the ASU police, students who favor the ban must come together to enforce the ban. One student asking a group of four that are smoking will not have much success in enforcing the ban but a group of 10 will have a stronger chance. (Interview someone who intends to enforce the ban)

An issue that the self-police policy brings is bullying. If that one student were to try and enforce the policy, he/she might be bullied and threatened to do otherwise. The possibility of bullying is one of the drawbacks in this policy but should not push the law to be protested. Why should someone be bullied when he/she is following the law. A scare tactic should influence the decision on whether ASU should ban smoking. 

Arizona State’s ban on tobacco has strengthened certain communities on campus. Students and faculty who believe that smoking should be allowed have come together to fight the ban, while students who believe that smoking is harmful to the people around them have come together to fight for the ban on smoking. The fact that so many people are coming together in order to fight for what they believe in, makes the Arizona State community stronger.