SFCC has recently implemented new policies in a move toward a smoke-free campus, and student smokers are constantly reminded that they have a deadly habit non-smokers want to avoid.

Everyone pretty much knows that cigarette smoke can cause serious health problems to those breathing it in on a regular basis, including second-hand smoke. The National Cancer Society has also linked second-hand smoke to lung-cancer, and other lung issues like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and emphysema; illnesses once attributed just to smokers.

I’m pretty sure that the damning science on second-hand smoke and smoking related diseases is what helped motivate the electronic cigarette (e-cig) industry. E-cig makers brag that their product is less harmful to users and those around them because they do not contain tobacco leaf that is smoked, but liquid nicotine that is vaporized. The result is a “smokeless” device that provides the nicotine user with the satisfaction of a regular cigarette, without the deadly smoke and nasty smell.

I’m a non-smoker, but my boyfriend is a smoker. We’ve been together for six years, and while I don’t love his habit, it’s not a dealbreaker (he’s a pretty great guy). He purchased an e-cig a couple years ago, mostly so I wouldn’t be subjected to the stink of his cigarettes when we were on trips in the car or at the park with the kids. I have chronic migraines, and the vapor from the e-cig does not trigger headaches with me like regular cigarettes do.

That being said, I still find it extremely rude when I see a student in class or in a hallway puffing away on their e-cig. If you wouldn’t smoke a regular cigarette in class or in the sub lounge, then why would you smoke an e-cig there? The idea is to make your habit less offensive, not to be able to puff away wherever the hell you want to because you have a smokeless nicotine zapper.

There was a student in an English class I took two quarters ago that used to randomly puff on his e-cig while the instructor was lecturing, or while we worked in groups on different reading projects. He wasn’t even discreet about it, which honestly blew me away. It wasn’t the smell that offended me, it was the attitude.

Since then, SFCC security has started enforcing the $10 fines for students violating the no-smoking policy on campus. The policy includes e-cigs, and it should. While I understand that most students who use their e-cigs aren’t doing so in an offensive manner and are following the rules, there are village idiots like the guy in my English class who are being disrespectful of policy and basically ruining a good thing for everyone else.

Seriously people, use the smoking areas, and don’t use your e-cigs in the sub lounge or cafeteria. No one thinks you’re cool if you do. The idea is to be less offensive with your habit, so consider that the next time you want to sneak a puff of your e-cig on campus and think no one notices.

Smoking your e-cig inside the school just makes you look like a person who is so addicted and lazy that they can’t make the short walk to the smoking areas or car to get a fix of nicotine. Don’t be that guy; it’s not worth the $10.