The current Sacramento State “20/20 Policy” restricts on-campus smoking to 20 feet from buildings and doorways and off of walkways, but some groups are fighting against policies that regulate smoking.

Fight Ordinances and Restrictions to Control and Eliminate Smoking and The American Smoker’s Alliance are organizations that reject social reforms like the 20/20 policy. These advocacy groups believe that it’s a person’s right to choose where they smoke.

FORCES alleges that anti-tobacco groups hypocritically use tobacco money to fund its projects. Tobacco companies, however, are legally required to educate the public about the health risks of tobacco related activities.

Sac State’s club Students Taking Action Against Nicotine Dependence is meant to educate people about the negative effects of tobacco and eliminate nicotine addiction and the presence of smoking on campus.

STAND was formed by a three-year grant awarded by the American Lung Association of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails in order to fulfill its goals of a healthier campus.

The group has been very active in the public arena, protesting against Philip Morris’, a company that owns Marlboro cigarette brand and 16 others in the United States, participation in the career fair.

Although STAND has been very active in the past, its current presence in the student world has been less than visible, and information about the group’s upcoming goings-on is hard to come by. Its Web site (www.sacstand.com), doesn’t have a link on the Sac State Web site. It does provide “quit kits” at the Student Health Connection and the Student Health Center, but without much advertising around campus to let smoking students know that there’s help. Membership numbers are the reason STAND is not very well known. It has few members although the group’s founders include Associated Students Inc. President Joshua Wood, current STAND President Jessica Gonzales and J.J. Hurley, a former Sac State student.

“I’m still waiting on people to turn in their membership forms, so the number of members is relatively few at this time,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales, co-founder of the advocacy group, feels the problem with the current 20/20 policy is the lack of definition.

“STAND proposed that CSUS become a smoke-free campus with designated smoking areas, so that smoking students know without a doubt where they can smoke,” Gonzales said.

The university rejected STAND’s proposal and countered with the current 20/20 policy. Stickers are on every door of every building on campus, but the policy has yet to be enforced. Until it is, students will continue to take advantage of its ambiguity.

Not all smokers feel the same, and definitely not all non-smokers.

“The 20/20 policy is good because smoking is a dirty habit and no one who doesn’t smoke should be subjected to it, but keeping Philip Morris off campus is ridiculous,” said James Larson, Sac State student and avid smoker. “No one is forcing students to get a job with the company and in the end a job is a job.”

“The Tobacco Industry should have no part in any educational arena. (Sac State) has the 20/20 policy, why not make (smoking) illegal campus wide,” said Stephanie Ridlon, a student athlete at CSUS and a signer of the petition that STAND put out to keep Philip Morris off campus. “No school should allow tobacco companies to advertise their products or their job openings on campus.”