E-Cigarette Ban Creates Conversation

A recent decision by the Casper College board of Trustees to expand the college's smoking policy to include a ban on e-cigarettes, or vaporizers, is spurring conversation about the practice.

Jason Magnuson owns a shop in Casper, specializing in retail sale of vaporizers and related accessories.  He says that the ban represents both a good thing and a bad thing.  Magnuson believes that the ban invites, what he considers, an incorrect comparison to second hand cigarette smoke.  But he does acknowledge some good coming from the Casper College ban.

"This is a form of acceptance for us," says Magnuson.  "Vapeing is becoming more mainstream, and it increases our chances of getting coverage to people who need it.  The people who are still using tobacco that may not know that there's a better option available."

With the vaporizer ban in place, Casper College joins Laramie County Community College in the city of Cheyenne, who also have an indoor ban on the use of vaporizers.  However, the University of Wyoming currently has no such ban in place.

"It has not become an issue for the university at this point," says University of Wyoming spokesperson, Chad Baldwin.  He goes on to say that it may become an issue, however, sometime in the future and says time will tell what will become of the university's stance on the issue.  "I think there's an argument to be made that our smoking policy would already apply to e-devices.  But I suppose it could be argued that, if you look at the language, that it may not apply as well.  We'll see what the future holds."

In the meantime, Magnuson says he doesn't object to the vaporizer ban at Casper College.  "It's Casper College's house, it's Casper College's rules," he says.  "Because there's not a lot of science proving that [vaporizers] are safe yet, I think that these bans are just fine."

Magnuson goes on to say that if scientific studies begin to show vaporizers as being non-dangerous, he would like to see the bans lifted.