ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Smoke Gets in Their Eyes

There’s mounting evidence that smoke inhaled from others’ smoking is a serious health hazard. And there’s no doubt we would all be better off if no one smoked. But some people persist. That’s why most work sites now designate areas for smokers well away from nonsmokers.

But a new anti-smoking policy supported by a majority of the board members of Ocean View School District in Huntington Beach--similar to one adopted by the Los Angeles Unified School District--is unenforceable and may inadvertently send the wrong message to students.

Schoolchildren, of course, have long been prohibited from smoking on campus. Most schools have designated smoking areas for staff, usually well away from students. Ocean View’s new policy would ban smoking for staff and visitors on all district property.

At school, where young opinions are formed, the symbolism of an act is nearly as important as the act itself. No doubt the board doesn’t want to sanction smoking by providing adult role models for students to copy.

But what message will children get when a rule is repeatedly broken? Or what about the teacher who takes a smoking break just outside of a school fence--perhaps in full view of the children? Can the school district force everyone in its environs to quit smoking simply by fiat? Or will it simply force them to sneak around to do it?

The district’s intent is honorable: Smoking must be discouraged and nonsmokers must be protected from inhaling others’ smoke. That’s a good argument for banning smoking in enclosed public spaces and setting up designated smoking areas. But, if it wants to adopt a strict no-smoking policy, Ocean View would do better to follow the example of Fountain Valley School District--forbid smoking in school buildings but allow it in outdoor areas outside the view of students.

School districts shouldn’t mandate inflexible rules that are bound to be broken. That sets a bad example for children.