At Grand Valley State University, students are allowed to smoke on campus as long as they are 25 feet away from buildings, bus stops on campus property and the Little Mac Bridge. GVSU is increasing awareness about the university’s smoking policy through the “Respect Our Campus” campaign.

However, this rule should not be the extent of the smoking etiquette on this campus. For non-smokers, it is very unpleasant to have to breathe in cigarette smoke all the way to class because the person in front of them is taking an in-between-classes smoke break. Even if smokers are 25 feet away from a building, they should still be conscious of the people around them.

In particular, those in the Laker community with breathing problems like asthma can face serious health consequences if they find themselves trapped behind a smoker and are forced to inhale the cigarette fumes.

While more rules and regulations may not be the answer as they are hard to enforce, the Lanthorn encourages smokers to be more aware of the fact that their smoking affects those around them.

In addition, it is common courtesy to put cigarette butts in the ash trays that are located at various spots around campus, with many placed conveniently near entrances to buildings. One of the biggest draws for potential future Lakers is the beauty of the campus, and finding the remnants of someone’s afternoon cigarette on the ground is not going to help grow our numbers. GVSU is beautiful, and Lakers should take pride in keeping our campus that way.

It should be noted that these cigarette receptacles are sometimes full, especially at popular smoking spots such as Kleiner, the overhang between Manitou and Mackinac halls and the Mackinac bus stop. A full receptacle does not, however, mean it is alright to leave the cigarette butt on the ground.

Cigarettes are not biodegradable, though this is a common misconception. The plastic filters can take many years to decompose. In fact, every littered cigarette butt can take anywhere from two to 25 years to biodegrade.

When the butts get flicked casually onto the street, they can enter the water supply and the chemicals leak out. An estimated 80 percent of littered cigarettes enter the water supply, which can affect water quality and the marine environment, and cigarettes have been found in the stomachs of fish, whales and birds.

San Diego State University public health researcher Richard Gersberg found that the chemicals from just one filtered cigarette butt had the ability to kill fish living in a one-liter bucket of water.

While one cigarette butt may not make a huge impact, the several trillion that are littered every year certainly add up. The U.S. alone accounts for 250 billion cigarette butts.

GVSU should not contribute to this staggering number. We know better than to litter, Lakers. Let’s commit to being a part of the solution, rather than adding to the problem.