E-cigarettes are becoming more popular with smokers who want access to “smokeless” nicotine, and some students at Spokane Falls have started using e-cigarettes on campus, which is against the no-smoking policy.
Washington state legislature WAC 132Q-30321 lists the bans on smoking for the community colleges in the Spokane area. The initiative defines smoking as “inhaling, exhaling, burning, carrying or possessing any lighted tobacco product… use of electronic nicotine delivery devices including… electronic cigarettes, vapor cigarettes, or similar products.” A link to the initiative is provided on the SFCC website under policies and procedures.
“The [CCS] Board of Trustees receives the legislation from the state, and sets the policy for the community colleges here in Spokane,” said Ken DeMello, Director of SFCC Campus Security. “Some campuses in Washington are entirely smoke-free, but our Board of Trustees decided to restrict tobacco use to areas on the perimeter of campus.”
Individuals who are caught smoking on campus and not near a designated smoking area risk being handed a $10 fine by campus security.
“We try to give students a warning first,” DeMello said. “Most students are compliant and don’t give us much grief, but we have the few who will gripe and complain about having to go to the smoking areas.
“Those are usually the students who end up with the citations for $10.”
Campus security does enforce the policy against e-cigarettes and other smokeless tobacco products, including chew or snuff. Most students will only receive an initial warning to move to the smoking areas, but those who are warned more than once will likely receive a citation for violating the rules.
“I try to be respectful and I don’t use my e-cigarette in class or anything,” said Jesse Bennett, SFCC audio engineering student. “I pretty much smoke it everywhere else, though. It’s water vapor, so it’s less harmful than real cigarette smoke.”
The scientific community does not have any current research to establish whether the use of e-cigarettes is harmful to those who use them, but the National Cancer Society suggests long-term use of nicotine in any form is harmful.
“Part of the reason we have a ban on the e-cigarettes is because we have to be fair to everyone on campus,” DeMello said. “While some people may not be affected by someone smoking an e-cigarette around them, there might be another student who could have a severe allergy. We want a healthy environment for all 5000+ students on campus.”
The e-cigarettes can also be used for smoking marijuana, which was recently legalized in Washington under I-502, but is still illegal under Federal law and is not allowed on SFCC campus. The marijuana is processed into a product called “hash oil” which can then be used in replacement of nicotine oil in some e-cigarette models.
“We’ve had a few students try to be sneaky on campus,” DeMello said. “Our policy with marijuana is just like alcohol, which is legal but a smart student wouldn’t bring it on campus or crack a beer open in class. So leave the weed off campus.”
“I think pot is just like alcohol,” said Bennett. “If you’re not going to show up to class drunk or drink a beer in class, then you shouldn’t show up stoned or use weed on campus. If you do, you risk losing your education.”
The smoking policy can be found on the SFCC website under Policies and Procedures.