Dear Editor,

What Tulane freshmen John Crenshaw and Miles Potter fail to disclose is why they walk to Loyola to smoke the hookah: Tulane’s new campus smoking policy prohibits all smoking not just in buildings, but around most of the campus.

As the policy states, “Research findings show that tobacco use in general, including smoking and breathing second-hand smoke, constitutes a significant health hazard. Second-hand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke, is a Class A carcinogen.

In addition to causing direct health hazards, smoking contributes to institutional costs. “Perhaps Loyola should revisit its own smoking policy and discourage faddish hookah smoking. Not only does nicotine and tar intake increase with hookah smoking, but secondary smoke puts passers-by at an increased risk. And do we really need to give tobacco companies one more way to line their pockets?

Sincerely,Albert Terrillion, MPH, CHESLoyola University Graduate (’03)Public Health ProfessionalLoyola University Lecturer