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Journalism Award Winner: Winter 2002: First Place
By Kevin Koo
Nashua High School
Nashua, NH
The Nashua Board of Alderman is currently considering an ordinance that puts greater restrictions on smoking in city restaurants. Not surprisingly, the opposition consists mainly of restaurants owners, who are afraid of losing smokers' business, and the smokers, who feel that such an ordinance violates their "rights" as smokers.
In reality, restaurants owners should have nothing to fear, because an overwhelming majority of Nashua resident do not smoke anyway, and would probably feel more inclined to dine out in a smoke-free atmosphere. The city-wide ordinance would also put all restaurants on the same competitive level. The fear of certain restaurants gaining advantages over others because they allow smoking is unjustified.
In addition, smokers believe their rights and freedoms are being ignored. They say city government has no place dictating where they can and cannot smoke. Yet each time they light up in restaurants, the nonsmoking patrons must suffer the consequences--namely, secondhand smoke and unhealthy air. If the smokers have a "right" to smoke wherever and whenever they want, what about the nonsmokers? Don't they have a "right" to breathe clean air, to keep their lungs free of carcinogens, and to eat out at a restaurant without having to wonder if the person in the next booth will blow smoke across the table? Of course, nothing enhances ambiance like an ashtray full of ashes and cigarette remains. How appetizing.
What about the right to live? Nonsmokers should be entitled to that right at the very least. Currently, secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in this country. As the city debated this issue from one committee to the next, more than 53,000 nonsmokers are dying each year as a direct result of secondhand smoke. This startling figure essentially means that along with the Chicken Parmesan that you order on your next trip to your favorite smoke-filled restaurant, you could be getting death on the side. Restaurant workers are not safe from the smoke, either. Prolonged exposure to the smoke merely accelerates the development of respiratory problems. Pass the emphysema, please.
As a high school student, I have herd the "Just Say No" talk from countless teachers and administrators. Yet at many Nashua restaurants, the obvious secondhand smoke in the air is a blatant exposure to the very thing I am told to stay away from! I find this quite paradoxical. Am I supposed to "Just Say No" to someone's cigarette smoke--smoke that doesn't know the difference between the smoking and nonsmoking sections? Perhaps the Nashua Board of Aldermen will realize that this ordinance isn't about profits, losses or infringement or rights; it's about protecting citizens' health and saving lives. And perhaps the board will take this opportunity to send a clear message to today's youth about the harmful and negative effects of smoking in restaurants and advocating the message in the community.
When it comes to restaurant dining, the reality is "Live Smoke-Free or Die"--literally.
Hot topic at Nashua High: Restaurant smoking ban
By Kevin Koo
Nashua High School
Nashua, NH
Today's high school students are ignorant, apathetic and uninterested, right? They lack understanding of current social issues and show no concern for what's going on around them? Apparently, Nashua High School students are breaking the mold once again, because many of them are concerned about ordinance 01-185, which is under consideration by the Nashua Board of Aldermen. The ordinance would ban smoking in all Nashua restaurants, and has been the topic of much discussion around the city.
"I think that it's a good idea," junior Kevin Cupack says. Smoking in restaurants "annoys me because I'm not a smoker, and I don't like people blowing smoke in my face." Cupack cites instances at local restaurants where he had to wait a long time for a table in the nonsmoking section.
"If smoking was banned," he adds, "I wouldn't have to worry where to sit or request a nonsmoking area."
Junior Ashley Copeland agrees: "The smoking and nonsmoking sections don't work" she says, noting that in many restaurants, there it little separation between the two areas. "There shouldn't be any smoking at all. Who wants to eat at a table with an ashtray?"
Cupack and Copeland are two in a large percentage of the NHS student body who have recently take notice of local politics. After all, the ordinance affects all customers at Nashua restaurants, regardless of age, and many students eat out frequently, as well.
The ordinance is causing a heated debate because some people, especially restaurant owners and smokers, are worried that their rights are being ignored or not considered. Some owners of dining institutions believe a smoking ban would decrease their profits or make them look inhospitable to smoking patrons.
Junior Erin Borry disagrees: "I don't think business would go down; it would go up because more people would be comfortable going to eat there," she explains.
Excluding lounges, bars and private facilities, the ordinance mandates the ban on smoking for all Nashua restaurants, creating an equal playing field for all businesses.
The atmosphere "would be more relaxed without smoking," Copeland says, adding she would feel more inclined to dine at a restaurant where she could enjoy the experience.
Many smokers are outraged at the proposition, claiming their rights as smokers would be violated. They believe they have the freedom to smoke in a restaurant if they want to.
"But do I get to choose whether or not to breathe their smoke? No!" junior Bryan O'Toole says with a sigh. O'Toole favors the ordinance for health reasons. "Smoking in a restaurant is disrespectful because the smoke isn't something that you can keep to yourself."
Borry says smoking in a restaurant "is inconsiderate. Smokers need to respect people who don't smoke. People shouldn't be exposed to it if they don't want to be."
O'Toole adds, "It's a common courtesy."
Smoking is a serious issue at Nashua High School. Students Working Against Tobacco, or SWAT, is a student organization that aims to keep NHS free of tobacco substances. The school's handbook of policies lists the heavy fines and serious consequences for student possession or use of tobacco products on school grounds. Even the Nashua School District's curriculum emphasizes the hazards and effects of smoking in its "Just Say No" campaign that begins at the elementary level.
Why, then, is the anti-smoking message contradicted every time students go out to eat?
"It doesn't make sense," O'Toole says. "If (smokers) want a cigarette, they can go outside. But they shouldn't pollute my air" -- as well as the air of the 75 percent of Nashua residents who do no t smoke, a figure estimated by the Nashua Partnership for Tobacco Free Youth.
The ordinance has been referred back to committee for possible amending, and the full board is expected to vote on it sometime in November.
While the debate on the ordinance will continue, many NHS students agree, "It's time we made smoking history," in Nashua's restaurants.
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