Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. school board members approved adding electronic smoking devices, also known as e-cigarettes, to the school corporation’s tobacco use policy.
The updated policy was unanimously approved by the school board on Monday and classifies Juuls, a brand of e-cigarettes, and e-cigarettes as substances that contain tobacco and nicotine, and prohibits students from using the devices on school property.
The Columbus City Council passed a similar public e-cigarette ban earlier this month. The citywide ban will go into effect Oct. 19.
“In order to protect all students from an environment that might be harmful to them, the school board prohibits the use and/or possession of tobacco by students in school buildings, on school grounds, on school buses or any school-related event,” the current policy reads.
“For purposes of this policy, use of tobacco shall mean all uses of tobacco, including cigar, cigarette, pipe, snuff or any other matter, substance or innovation that contains tobacco or nicotine.”
The revised policy adds Juuls and e-cigarettes to the list of prohibited substances, “although by practice and by school handbooks, we were addressing issues with vaping and electronic cigarettes,” said Jim Roberts, BCSC superintendent.
An electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette, is a hand-held, battery-powered device that simulates smoking by creating a nicotine-laced aerosol that users inhale. Electronic cigarettes come in different shapes and sizes, though some look like traditional cigarettes.
E-cigarettes do not burn tobacco. Instead, they have cartridges that contain a mixture of nicotine and other chemicals. The use of electronic cigarettes is often referred to as “vaping” due to the vapor-like aerosol the devices emits.
Researchers and experts caution that most electronic cigarettes contain harmful or potentially harmful ingredients, including nicotine, an addictive substance that naturally occurs in tobacco plants that has been linked to increased blood pressure and spiked levels of adrenaline, according to the U.S. Surgeon General’s website.
Some electronic cigarette cartridges contain as much as 20 cigarettes worth of nicotine, according to Truth, a national anti-smoking campaign aimed at teenagers.
On Friday, state health officials in Indiana, California and Minnesota confirmed deaths in their states in people linked to a history of vaping. Previous deaths had been reported in Illinois and Oregon, according to wire reports.
In Bartholomew County, 29% of high school seniors at Bartholomew County School Corp. schools have reported using an e-cigarette, according to data presented during a Columbus City Council meeting in June.
