Canadian universities are talking about e-cigarettes and how the restrictions applied to them should compare to regular cigarettes.
According to Carleton University’s policy on smoking on campus, “Until such time as scientific evidence proves otherwise, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) will be included in the definition [of smoking], and their use is not permitted.”
Several Canadian universities—including Université de Montréal, University of New Brunswick, and Thompson Rivers University—have the same policy, while the majority of Canadian universities are still waiting for official policies from the provincial government, according to University Affairs.
A main concern seems to a lack of scientific research on the long-term impacts of e-cigarettes. MacEwan University in Manitoba restricted them to smoking areas after many complaints from university students.
The Liberal government of Ontario wants to apply the policies on cigarettes to e-cigarettes across the province.
Second-year English and humanities major Simon Coll, who said he has used both cigarettes and e-cigarettes, stated, “For the individual impact, it seems relatively defensible to say that electronic cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes. If they’re harmful at all outside of the minor adverse effects of nicotine.”
Coll said classifying the two cigarette types together is “reasonable” until studies on their long-term effects have been done.
“It is important that the government, and us as a society, keep a watchful eye on how this technology develops, and we must disavow ourselves of sensationalism from either side of our issue,” he said.
The Liberal government of Ontario is making motions to crack down on the presence of e-cigarettes in public places, and restrict the sale of the e-cigarettes.
