E-cigarette use is treated as cigarette use, despite a lack of scientific study

Sean Hobbs Staff Writer

As e-cigarettes, or e-cigs, have grown in popularity, so too has the conversation surrounding their appropriate use. Unlike “analog” cigarettes, as they’re often called by e-cigarette users, e-cigs are largely untested, and almost completely unregulated.

Despite being invented in the 1960’s and used in the United States since 2008, e-cigarettes have been mostly ignored by the Food and Drug Administration, the FDA, for the past 6 years. The FDA has only recently proposed extending their authority to additional tobacco products. This would include e-cigarettes, as well as cigars, pipe tobacco, certain dissolvable gels, and water-pipe tobacco.

Pierce County has been somewhat quicker to action, as the Tacoma-Pierce County Board of Health passed new tobacco regulations in June of 2011. These regulations prohibited the sale of e-cigarettes to those under 18, and limited their use to places minors are lawfully prohibited, places of employment that are not public places, and locations that exclusively sell or promote e-cigarettes.

Meanwhile, e-cigarettes have recently been handled by Pierce College, and only in non-legislative ways. There have been many signs taped to entrances around campus, repeating the policies of the Board of Health. Official campus smoking policies have not been updated since 2006, and do not include anything specific regarding e-cigarettes.

Policies adopted by Pierce College are subject to federal and Washington state policies and laws as stated in the Pierce College policy manual. Regardless of if the school wanted to change its policies on e-cigarettes or not, student government would not be able to change any policies that would conflict with those at the federal or state levels. As such, the argument goes above the heads of any Pierce College student.

While there is relatively little scientific evidence either way, students stand on all sides of the debate, . While, some staunchly believe that e-cigarettes are safe for those around the smoker, there are others who believe that they(e-cigs) are equally as harmful as analog cigarettes. Yet, others are just simply caught in the crossfire.

“We’re being classified as smokers, we’ve got to stand with the smokers, we got to inhale the smokers smoke, even though we’re not smokers, so we might as well smoke,” said Ryan Meadows, Pierce College student and e-cigarette smoker, regarding the schools current policy about e-cigarettes. “There’s no benefit anymore, they eliminated the benefits of e-cigarettes.”

Until further scientific research has been done regarding the effects of e-cigarettes, and those effects compared to those of analog cigarettes, it seems regulations will stay how they are. Any new legislation passed now would be solely based on speculation.