For decades, American society has been moving toward a
complete ban on smoking tobacco. Since about the mid-20th century, when
scientific studies revealing the drug’s devastating effects on the human body
were made public, public policy and social attitudes have shifted more and more
against tobacco. This is something to my taste. But in
executing its well-intentioned ban on consuming tobacco products on University
of California campuses, the university administration’s prohibition of
e-cigarettes is a step too far. These means of taking in tobacco can help get
smokers off conventional cigarettes, and there’s no conclusive proof that there
are negative effects for bystanders. Simply put, e-cigarettes shouldn’t affect
people who haven’t made the decision to put themselves at risk.
It’s also a point of contention as to how harmful e-cigarettes even are to
oneself. Boston University professor Michael Siegel, who advocates banning
cigarettes, doesn’t believe we should restrict e-cigarettes the same way we do
"conventional" cigarettes, according to the East Bay Express. Furthermore,
according to a study published in the esteemed British medical journal the
Lancet, e-cigarettes were "modestly effective" at reducing smokers’ dependency
on tobacco—much like the commercially available nicotine patches.
It doesn’t seem there are obvious negative externalities to the use of
e-cigarettes. If that’s the case, then what’s the basis of the ban Tobacco Free
Berkeley project manager Steve Maranzana illustrated one justification when he
told the East Bay Express that the university wants "to steer people towards
quitting resources that have been proven to be effective and
FDA-approved." In the context of a "better safe than sorry"
approach, the university’s decision to include prohibiting e-cigarettes in its
tobacco ban makes sense, so does the idea that the university wants people to
use federally sanctioned "quitting resources." But just because the university
wants to play it safe or tell people to use one kind of quitting product, that
doesn’t mean it has that authority. Banning e-cigarettes is an
excessive intrusion on the judgment and lifestyle of members of the UC
community. Individuals should have the ability to reason for themselves if
e-cigarettes are the right choice for them, and they should also be the ones to
determine whether they want to use UC-recommended or FDA-approved
methods. And if people decide to use e-cigarettes while not
creating a problem for anyone else, why should the university get to take away
that option This passage is intended to argue that ______.
A. the ban on e-cigarettes should be lifted
B. cigarette smoking should be banned completely
C. e-cigarettes should be approved by the DFA
D. e-cigarettes will replace tobacco cigarettes