Senate Bill 36 was unanimously approved last April 2013. It prohibits smoking on Louisiana’s colleges and universities to stop the students from smoking within the campus. In the course of determining the manner of implementation, certain universities, 291 out of 1,477 to be exact, have also decided to ban vaping along with smoking. There were certain universities that decided to wait until further research on its long-term effects are completed; one of which is University of New Orleans UNO.
Splitting Hairs at University of New Orleans
The committee tasked at setting rules to implement the e-cig bill For the University of New Orleans failed to reach a consensus insofar as banning vaping is concerned within the campus. The decision was elevated to the university president, Peter Foz, who was expected to favor the banning. All this
The indecision gave the students the window of opportunity to rally against its banning. The UNO student government hastily worked on a resolution to petition the banning of vaping while strongly supporting the move against smoking within the campus. As the student body garnered support from the rest of the UNO community, Dr. Fos agreed to allow vaping within the campus for the time being and until further studies are completed for their guidance.
UNO Student Body Perspective
UNO and the rest of the community support electronic cigarettes because they believe it is not harmful like smoking tobacco. Fernando Reyes, a senator of the Student Government said, “We did feel like vaporizers, being water vapor and not really causing a problem for anyone else, should be kept on campus.”
Some students claimed that they became more informed about their options when they saw vapers in the campus. UNO student Chris Toups’ personal interest was roused when he saw students vaping in the campus grounds. His piqued interest made him research more about vaping. Now he knows that those 200 chemicals plus nicotine that smokers and bystanders take into their lung with each tobacco puff aren’t present in e-cigarettes. He observed that the sweet smell only lingers for a short while and that it is not offensive unless you blow it on someone’s face.
Future Prospects
At the moment, the students are rejoicing that they were able to convince Dr. Fos to allow vaping within the university premises, even on a temporary basis. Though there is always that possibility that he may revoke the current E-Cig policy in UNO later, students are confident that he will eventually see the benefits of banning smoking and allowing vaping. With the ban on tobacco smoking, vaping becomes the new progressive choice that universities concerned about student health may consider allowing. In this regard, expect more smokers in UNO to make the shift in the near future.
With vaping being allowed in UNO, the eyes of the other universities in the state are set upon this university to see if allowing vaping will prove to be a smart and healthy decision. It will be interesting to find out if giving in to the students’ resolution will help attract more tobacco smokers to shift. If these happen, will more Louisiana universities follow UNO’s lead?