Boston University smokers have been up in arms since the Boston Public Health Commission’s ban on the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies and on campuses began Monday.
Tobacco can no longer be sold in Campus Convenience and City Convenience stores on campus. Star Market and the CVS Pharmacy near West Campus cannot sell tobacco either because they have pharmacies.
The mixture of university and private buildings on BU’s campus allows stores such as the CVS at 730 Commonwealth Ave., and CityCo at 957 Commonwealth Ave., to continue selling tobacco products, employees said.
The BU-owned 660 Corporation, which operates CampCo and CityCo, declined to comment on how the tobacco ban would affect sales.
BPHC Director of Communications Ann Scales said the ban centered on campuses because tobacco companies target youth and people are more likely to start smoking as young adults.
‘Our interest is in protecting the health and well-being and safety for residents and visitors,’ Scales said. ‘We know that taking steps like this actually work.’
Scales said the law is not restricting anyone’s right to smoke.
‘This is a free country,’ Scales said. ‘If they want to choose to smoke, despite the harmful effects, that’s their prerogative. I think people will look back and realize the sky didn’t fall.’
BU health law professor Leonard Glantz said the ban is unnecessary and will have no impact on smoking rates.
‘[This is] a great overreaching of power,’ Glantz said. ‘It is none of [the BPHC’s] business.’
Glantz said the BPHC should put up warning signs in pharmacies instead of implementing restrictions on where tobacco can be purchased.
‘They’ve only forced smokers into liquor stores and convenience stores,’ Glantz said.
College of Arts and Sciences junior Akash Majumdar, a smoker, said it was unfair that the ban is focused on campuses.
‘I don’t think it makes sense to just ban tobacco on campus,’ he said. ‘People have a personal right to smoke if they want.’
CAS sophomore Katie Snyder said the ban is strange, especially at BU, where the campus is nebulous.
‘Where does the campus end?’ Snyder said.
Student Health Services Director Dr. David McBride said in an email that the ban is a good start, and he hopes the university will take further steps to limit smoking. Smoking not only poses a health risk to smokers, but it creates an unfavorable environment for non-smokers, he said.
‘I hope that the next step will be for BU to ban smoking within the vicinity of any campus buildings,’ McBride said.
CAS sophomore Alley Kritzman said the ban will not stop heavy smokers but may have a positive effect on casual smokers, like her roommate.
‘It’s still worth it even if it gets like ten kids, I guess, to stop,’ Kritzman said.
College of Arts and Science freshman Min Chung, who said she is a smoker, said she thinks the ban is a positive step.
‘I heard yesterday, and I was pretty shocked,’ Chung said. ‘But now that I think about it, it’s a good idea.’
The tobacco ban also restricts smoking in outdoor areas adjacent to workplaces, closing a loophole in the 2002 workforce smoking ban, according to the BPHC.
The ban additionally prohibited the opening of new smoking bars, and gave current bars 10 years to close. The sale of blunt wraps, but not rolling paper, is also prohibited.
Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences freshman Amanda Matteo said although she is against smoking, the ban infringes on students’ rights.
‘If it’s legal, it should be allowed to be sold,’ Matteo said.
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Walking while smoking is in a sense the ultimate offense, since smokers are more difficult to avoid.<p/>I certainly think smokers have a right to do whatever they want – as long as it doesn’t infringe upon the rights of others.<br/><p/>Despite all the restrictions surrounding smoking, it is still legal and choosing to smoke is not tantamount to giving up the right to move freely. How offensive are cars idling at traffic lights, when one might walk past and breathe a small amount of fumes? In choosing to live in an urban environment, it is the offended individual’s responsibility to avoid smokers, not the other way around.