Two Student’s Thoughts’ on Lighting Up
This week, the Cor Chronicle sat down with two upperclassmen, Aine O’Brien and Isaac Martin, to get their thoughts on smoking.
SD: What are your opinions on smoking?
AO: I am not a huge fan of breathing in smoke. It triggers my asthma, so it makes it a little bit more difficult to sit outside, or walk across campus, but that’s really it.
IM: I’ve always thought of it in a very positive way. Obviously smoking’s not optimal for your health, but from the research I’ve done, lungs can regenerate, and we are at a point in our lives where our bodies are healthy enough that if we were to [smoke at] any point in our life, I think now is the time to do it, and then move past it later in life. Nicotine is an intellectual stimulant, letting all these neurons fire that aren’t firing when you’re not under the influence of nicotine, which is part of why traditionally, it’s been a part of academic environments. I think there’s been a weird adaptation towards vaping and these kind of grosser dark arts of smoking, if you will, at most universities. So I think that’s always been something unique about UD, how we’ve stuck with cigarettes, the old stuff, the natural stuff.
SD: What about the social aspect of smoking? Is it positive or negative?
AO: I don’t smoke, but it looks very positive from afar, people seem to really have fun with it. I just prefer not to breathe in the smoke all the time. I think smoking is definitely an aspect, but I think also the cafe restricting eating out on the mall has also brought down the amount of people out there.
IM: I think it is a wonderful social thing at UD, because it kind of gives you that moment of breakthrough when you walk up to someone, ‘Hey, can I get a lighter? Hey, can I bum a smoke?’ It can be this universal icebreaker for people. It can speed up your mind in those conversations you’re having in between classes. And just really allows for a nice social relaxant and enhancer.
SD: What about different ways to get nicotine? Pipes, cigars or vaping?
AO: When we were in Rome, I smoked a pipe. I thought it was kind of cool. I have a negative association with cigarettes, because a lot of people in my family have gotten lung cancer, or struggled later in age with cigarette addiction. That’s another reason why I’m not a huge fan of the smoking culture. What [Isaac is] talking about—being young and your body regenerating—is a really good point. I hadn’t really thought of that before.
IM: It’s definitely a different way of ingesting nicotine. It’s less convenient. You don’t pull it up and have a two second smoke. If you’re smoking a cigar you’re going to be locked in conversation or reading. You’re there for an hour. It’s not your five minute smoke break. The time difference between those things is pretty significant, so I think in a fast paced environment, cigarettes make more sense. I think pipes and cigars are more optimal and there’s a classier ambiance behind that activity.
SD: If the cafe has to expand in order to accommodate for no outdoor dining, would you want to include a smoking and non-smoking zone?
AO: I don’t really see a problem with that. I don’t have a problem with smoking in and of itself. It just can negatively affect people’s health in different ways. I have friends for whom it’s a serious hazard if people are smoking around them all the time. It’s inconvenient to suddenly not be able to breathe because I have an asthma attack or something like that. It’s just nice to have places where people can enjoy being outside without needing to worry about moving if someone starts smoking.
IM: It’d be awesome. There’s this diner that freshman year me and a bunch of my friends would go to, and it’s a 24-hour diner. You could smoke inside, and it is super cool.
SD: Do you think we could find middle ground within the church? If the church just uses more incense?
IM: There’s isn’t any nicotine in frankincense, if there was, that’d be great.
AO: That would be one way to do it.