The last few years Electronic cigarettes have gained in popularity. Although “E- cigarettes” release a vapor rather than smoke, many colleges, restaurants, cities and airports are creating more regulations about them and some places even banning use of them. Now that e-cigarettes are banned at GC’s campus as well, it could possibly be in students’ best interest.

On a pack of normal cigarettes there is always the Surgeon General Warning, but with  E-cigarette’s facts are different. There have not yet been any studies of the effects of the long term use of E-cigarettes. There’s also bits of research that may have discovered that second hand vapor smoke from the E –cigarette could be more dangerous than the second hand smoke of normal cigarettes. If smoking of any kind is banned on campus, (this also includes hookahs,) it’s understandable that the E-cigarette would be banned when doctors and the FDA aren’t even sure yet of the potential long term side effects of this new electric trend.

Keeping the Grossmont campus environment safe for all, means that no smoking of any kind is allowed including smoking in the parking lots. If any students feel as if their personal freedoms have been taken away by the banning of E-cigarettes, they could remember the side effects smoking can cause. Asthma, lung disease, cancer and strokes can occur when a person smokes, as well as passing on asthma to young children who inhale second hand smoke or vapors. Every student has a choice to make. Whether or not an individual student does smoke normal or electronic cigarettes or hookahs, or doesn’t smoke at all, they can still consciously make a decision to refrain from doing so while on campus.