After months of study, the University of Arizona is proposing a ban on e-cigarettes on campus.
The change to the schoolβs smoking policy was prompted by recent research that shows the electronic nicotine delivery devices arenβt as harmless as once thought, said Allison Vaillancourt, the UAβs human resources chief.
The school initially included e-cigarettes in its 2014 ban on tobacco products, but backed off amid protests from students, employees and visitors and put together a review team to study the matter, Vaillancourt said
The 10-person team, which included several UA medical professors, found most of the chemicals in e-cigarettes have not been tested for lung toxicity, so the vapors they produce could potentially be harmful to others.
The teamβs report said thereβs no proof the devices help people quit smoking and said their use isβ a significant public health concern.β
Research shows college students who use the devices are more likely to engage is risky behaviors such as heavy drinking and marijuana use, and more likely to eventually smoke cigarettes, the report said.
Eleven of the UAβs 15 peer institutions have already banned e-cigarettes on campus, it said. The American Lung Association and American Heart Association support the ban, it added.
The UA has set up a website — http://tucne.ws/ck1 — to gather feedback from the public and the UA community.
The deadline for comments is Oct. 3.
