Two days after MU’s smoke-free campus policy went into effect, Wellness Resource Center coordinator Tiffany Bowman noticed a difference.
“I used to see people on campus smoking pretty frequently,” Bowman said. “(On Wednesday,) I drove around to see if I found anyone (smoking), and I just didn’t see anyone. And I went over the lunch hour thinking that would be a key time.”
The smoke-free policy, which went into effect July 1, bans smoking anywhere on campus.
The smoke-free policy includes the use of electronic cigarettes, which are battery-powered and emit vapor instead of smoke. E-cigarettes are tobacco-less options that allow the smoker to still get nicotine without the other harmful ingredients included in cigarettes, according to [Green Smoke’s website](http://www.greensmoke.com/electroniccigarettes/). Green Smoke is a manufacturer of electronic cigarettes.
Since electronic cigarettes don’t give off harmful second-hand smoke, some students were confused as to why they were banned in the smoke-free policy.
The reason for including e-cigarettes in the policy is two-fold, Bowman said.
“They do emit a vapor, and I think science still needs to catch up with if, in fact, that is safe or not safe at all,” Bowman said.
Allowing students to use electronic cigarettes would confuse others, she said.
“It creates a difficulty with trying to enforce a policy like this when you can’t tell what it is,” Bowman said.
An overarching policy, Bowman said, will be easier to enforce and implement.
Until the campus-wide smoking ban went into effect, students, faculty and staff could smoke at designated outdoor areas and on top of parking structures. These areas were equipped with receptacles for cigarette waste which have since been removed, Bowman said.
She said she would frequently see people smoking right outside the Student Center near the parking lot, but hasn’t seen any smokers there since July 1.
“They aren’t out there any more, and the urn that used to stand there is gone,” Bowman said.
Student response to the policy has been both positive and negative.
“I’m not against the ban, however, I don’t think it will be enforced at all,” said junior Steven Twidwell in a comment on [The Maneater’s Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/themaneaterMU). “The past two phases were jokes when it came to violations. This is no different.”
Incoming freshman Ashley Miles took to Twitter to express her support for the policy.
“I’m really excited that MU went smoke free today. No more putting up with annoying smokers when I go to college,” Miles tweeted on July 1.
On June 28, three days before the policy took effect, the MU Sustainability Office hosted the “Big Butt Recycling” litter pick-up to clear the campus grounds of cigarette waste.
Twenty volunteers spent Friday morning collecting what amounted to 12 pounds of litter in the form of cigarette butts, filters and tobacco pouches. The Sustainability Office will recycle the waste through recycling company TerraCycle.