Letter to the Editor,

Students Organized for Collective Action would like to offer the student body an opportunity to think about the benefits of having a smoke free campus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people who smoke cigarettes are the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. This accounts for more than 480,000 deaths, or one of every five deaths, each year. Even for those who choose not to smoke, the risk is still prevalent. In fact, according to the CDC, secondhand smoke causes over 50,000 deaths per-year. Not even including a wide range of adverse health effects which include, lung cancer, respiratory infections, and asthma, without even smoking cigarettes. In the United States, the cost of the extra medical care, illness, and death caused by secondhand smoke is over $10 billion per year.

First, Students Organized for Collective Action wants to generate a supporting cast which includes students, faculty, and staff in support of our initiative. Students Organized for Collective Action want to create a smoke-free campus at The University of Akron. According to Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, there are already 1,478 100 percent smoke-free campuses in the United States. Within those 1,478, Ohio has fifteen of those schools. These include, Central State University, Christian Cedarville University, Cleveland State University, Dwight Schar School of Nursing, Ashland University, Hocking College, Malone College, Miami University, Mount Carmel School of Nursing, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Notre Dame College of Ohio, Ohio Christian University, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio State University, University of Toledo.

Second, Students Organized for Collective Action understands that moving forward with this initiative is not about the present, it is about the future generations The University of Akron students. Third, Sustainability yields social, economic, and environmental benefits and those benefits will only enhance The University of Akron’s ambitions to grow. If anyone is interested in supporting our initiative please feel free to contact us at [email protected], like us on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/smokefreeua or Twitter: @SmokeFreeUOFA.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Evans

Students Organized for Collective Action