On the University of Massachusetts campus today, you don’t have to be a superhero or know martial arts to kick some butts. In fact many of us kick butts without even noticing it.

Simply take a look around and you will notice the vast amounts of cigarette butts courtesy of smokers campuswide. Not only do smokers affect our physical environment, but they also affect everyone’s health. Second-hand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States, racking up 53,000 deaths a year.

If you think second-hand smoke is bad, imagine the effects of first-hand smoke. Worldwide tobacco is a major cause of death with one in 10 adults dying from tobacco use or exposure. Five million people die every year because of tobacco. In recent years, tobacco has been deemed a Class-A carcinogen. In other words, there is no safe level of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.

It is very clear that cigarettes are a serious health hazard which we all need to be more aware of. Some believe since they are young, tobacco can’t be too bad for them, however this notion is incorrect. Every time you smoke even one cigarette, you are shaving off years from your expected lifespan. Tobacco use may help some people relieve their stress, or help them focus, but the negative side effects largely outweigh the positive.

Smoking leads to shortness of breath, greatly hampering an individual’s participation in athletics or even normal day activities as simple as walking to class. Smoking also may cause lung cancer, tooth disease, gum disease, colds, the flu, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This list isn’t even a handful the effects of smoking and tobacco use.

Why does smoking have so many negative possible health hazards? Have you ever taken the time to research the chemicals used to make the cancer sticks you use? A single cigarette contains 4,000 chemicals and 43 carcinogens. Some chemicals used are ammonia (used in many cleaning products), formaldehyde, arsenic (also known as rat poison), methane (rocket fuel), butane (lighter fluid), cadmium (found in batteries), hydrogen cyanide (gas chamber poison) and carbon monoxide (car exhaust).

Regardless of all the bad effects cigarettes have on people’s bodies and on those around them, there is still a significant amount of students on campus who smoke. According to the United States National Library of Medicine, 30 percent of college students smoke cigarettes.

With that said, I believe it is safe to say that 98 percent of all students campus wide are effected by tobacco, whether it be first-hand or second-hand. I can recall countless times when I was enveloped in a cloud of cigarette smoke on the way to class, as many of us can and the very smell of it is unpleasant. Smokers are slowly killing themselves and others around them. What can we do as fully aware students to create a healthier environment for everyone? They are a number of different routes that we can take.

December of 2009 was when 365 campuses declared or at least planned some form of smoking ban, with many more to follow in their footsteps. Some of the schools include Salem State, the University of Maine and the University of Kentucky. UMass has signs posted on most buildings which state no smoking within 20 feet, however this rule is rarely enforced and most smokers do not follow it at all.

Most ash cans where cigarette butts are supposed to be disposed are placed directly in front of the buildings that have these signs. In addition, although we might be able to avoid walking through a cloud of smoke when entering buildings, we still will not be able to completely avoid the second-hand smoke. Maybe the smokers themselves notice that no matter where the smoking is done, the effects on people around will not differ. The only way to completely ensure the health of the students is to take the advice of organizations such as the American College Health Association and go 100 percent tobacco free indoors and outdoors.

Not only would this aid in student health but would also help in the health of our environment. Some of the chemicals released by smoking have a negative effect on our ozone layer. We have cigarette bins but still have to deal with smokers littering, which takes away from the beauty of our campus. University Health Services has implemented its annual “No Butts About It Day” where a number of volunteers go around picking up cigarette butts.

In November 2008 12 pounds of cigarette butts were collected in just three hours. These butts are put on display to make our community more aware of smoking and are later disposed of. Maybe instead of picking up butts every year, the university should offer a class for credits that makes students aware of effects of tobacco and offer them help in quitting. Rather than  picking up butts every year, we should focus on kicking this habit to create a tobacco free environment for all.

Curtis Bloomfield is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].