(Photo illustration by Brandon Reynolds and Scott Allen)
By Brian Ruth
The Scene staff
As electronic cigarette use continues to grow, colleges are beginning to place the devices under tobacco-free campus rules enacted before the new form of smoking took off.
At St. Louis Community College, students may soon see a ruling on e-cigarette use.
The college-wide Institutional Affairs Council and the four Campus Academic Councils have proposed to the Board of Trustees that the district’s tobacco-free policy be amended to include electronic cigarettes, prohibiting their use on all campuses.
The board may consider the matter during a retreat this month, but it was not discussed during its March meeting.
“The e-cigarette issue was submitted to the Institutional Affairs Council and sent to the Campus Academic Council at each campus for approval,” said Lisa Alvarez, a biology professor and chair of the Forest Park Academic Affairs Council.
At the campus council level, professors have a greater say in broader issues affecting students.
“We had a debate on this ourselves,” Alvarez said. “Should we be talking about this? But, as professors, we want to be involved in the environment that students are experiencing.”
Lisa Lee, chair of the Institutional Affairs Council, said the issue was brought to the group after concerns were raised about e-cigarette smoking in campus areas and classrooms.
“The issue moves forward to the district leadership team and must be approved by the Board of Trustees before any changes to the campus tobacco-free policy can be carried out,” Lee said. “It is up to STLCC Board of Trustees to determine when an e-cigarette ruling will go into effect and how it will be enforced.”
E-cigarettes deliver nicotine and other ingredients in the form of an inhaled vapor. The concern – for users and non-users alike – is a new, unregulated industry that the Food and Drug Administration has already cited for unsubstantiated claims and poor manufacturing practices.
At Forest Park, e-cigarette users and non-users share similar views on the topic.
Nursing program student Mia Selimovic, 22, does not use e-cigarettes but sees the potential benefits of inhaling water-based vapors instead of cigarette smoke when trying to quit.
“One of my friends who use e-cigs has no cravings for actual cigarettes anymore,” she said.
“I think it could be beneficial for the school to not ban e-cigs,” Selimovic said. “Even though smoking is prohibited on our campus, I see students smoking all the time. There are cigarette butts all over the ground.”
Photography major Leanna Dailey, 20, agrees.
“(E-cigarettes) shouldn’t be under the tobacco policy because they’re not tobacco,” said Dailey, a recent e-cigarette user.
Transfer student and cigarette smoker Olivia Hunter, 22, supports e-cigarette advocates.
“E-cigs have shown no measured effect on public health,” Hunter said.
Since the nicotine in electronic cigarettes can be derived from tobacco, the current STLCC tobacco policy could be revised to include electronic cigarettes as tobacco products.
“We voted on the language for the revised tobacco policy,” Alvarez said.
Currently, the policy states that “use of tobacco products is prohibited on all college property and in all college vehicles. There will be no designated smoking areas within the property boundary.
Violators may receive disciplinary action, including fines and holds placed on registration and transcripts.”
The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association (CASAA) promotes e-cigarette use in smoking cessation and overall “harm reduction” caused by tobacco-burning cigarettes.
In a recent statement, CASAA maintains that attaching e-cigarettes to existing smoking bans is unjustified.
“Most of the air pollution due to cigarettes is due to sidestream smoke — the smoke that curls off the end of a cigarette when it is not being inhaled,” stated the report. “E-cigarettes have no side-stream smoke. E-cigarettes also have none of the toxic products of combustion produced by conventional cigarettes. It is therefore unreasonable to ban them on the basis of risk to non-smokers.”
In January, Missouri House Bill 1345 was introduced, which would put e-cigarettes in a category separate from traditional cigarettes, making them exempt from taxes and regulations associated with tobacco products. If passed, this bill could widen the debate on e-cigarette usage in public buildings.
Some cities in Missouri, including St. Louis, have already included vapor products under smoke-free public building policies.
According to fan guidelines posted at the Scottrade Center website: “Electronic cigarettes and similar devices are prohibited.”
The Edward Jones Dome and Busch Stadium also ban the products as “smokeless” cigarettes.
Students can find out if the tobacco policy revisions have been approved by the Board of Trustees by navigating the STLCC website. Go to “About STLCC/Board of Trustees/Meeting Minutes” to review the topics covered during the previous month’s agenda.