The University of California banned all smoking and tobacco products last week, following a similar ban at UCLA last spring.
The new policy, which came into effect on Jan. 1, bans products including tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, hookahs and nicotine gum. UC Irvine is the only campus that will continue to allow e-cigarettes under the ban.
With the new systemwide policy, administrators aim to create a clean, healthy environment for students and staff, according to a statement from John Stobo, UC senior vice president for health sciences and services. UCLA implemented its own tobacco ban this past April.
Some opponents of the ban, however, have said the ban casts a stigma on smokers, rather than encouraging smokers to quit. The ban was also considered by some as a blanket rule that infringes on students’ rights to determine their own lifestyle.
At UC Irvine, rather than enforcing a campuswide ban, professors and departments have the choice to prohibit or permit e-cigarettes in their area of control, said UC Irvine spokeswoman Laura Rico.
Rico said individual campuses were given the flexibility to implement their own policies, so allowing e-cigarettes does not conflict with the systemwide mandate.
“We look at this tobacco policy as a personal health issue rather than a health mandate, thus we decided to give individual campus units the freedom to manage their own environments,” Rico said.
The UC Office of the President was unable to comment on UC Irvine’s policy by press time.
Compiled by Emily Liu, Bruin contributor.