Electronic cigarettes added to tobacco-free policy | News

The University of Montana now includes cigarettes, cheers and hookahs use anywhere on campus.

The addition comes seven years after the University implemented the "Tobacco-Free UM" policy, and numerous studies have determined that e-cigs both raise health concerns and make it more effective.

"Until now, we just did not know anything about electronic cigarettes to make a decision," said Linda Green, the Curry Health Center's Wellness Director.

According to the American College Health Association's biennial survey of UM, the electronic cigarette use among students increased from 2016 to 2018, while less smoked cigarettes and chewed tobacco.

Although Green, who oversees UM's efforts to help students quit tobacco, the benefits of less smoking, there is no science to support electronic cigarettes as a healthy substitute.

The nicotine in the eye of the body is more important than it is in the eye. Green cited a June 2018 report connecting the vapor produced by electronic cigarettes with damage to the lungs' ability to fight diseases.

Lung damage is not the only health concern for Green when it comes to using electronic cigarettes. In 2014, an e-cig exploded inside someone's purse and forced the Missoula County Courthouse to evacuate.

A portion of the ACHA 's survey asked students if they were adding extra cigarettes to their tobacco companies, with close to 70 percent saying they did. A similar survey conducted by Green's office throughout the year 2017 school year yielded similar results.

"We would not have made the decision without the students," Green said.

Christian Smith, a 22-year-old at UM, said he started using electronic cigarettes to quit his pack-and-a-half per day habit.

"I'm going to be a business major. It's very professional to show up for a meeting smelling like cigarettes. So, I wanted to get that smell off me, "he said.

Although he was asked to come back to campus after lighting up a cigarette, he said, "I do not know where I'm going to come from, but I do not know where I come from." Still, standing with the front of the door at the Lommasson Center on Arthur, he plans to adhere to the new policy.

Green says a surprising number of students who never smoked a cigarette. She encouraged any student interested in quitting smoking at the Curry Health Center any time.

"Our concern is the health of students," said Green, "both smokers and nonsmokers."