Add Texas A&M properties to the list of places where the use of e-cigarettes will no longer be allowed.
On Tuesday, A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp issued a memorandum stating that, in the interest of the “health of our students, faculty and staff,” he has directed the presidents of each of the system’s 11 universities, as well as the directors of the eight state agencies within the system to end the use of e-cigarettes, or vaping, “as soon as possible.”
“Smoking is banned in most places in the System already. But the ban on vaping is to be mandatory and expanded to every inch of the Texas A&M System,” he said.
“This health threat is serious enough that I want to see the ban include every building, outside space, parking lot, garage and laboratory within the Texas A&M System. The ban also should extend to every facility of our $950 million research enterprise and all System properties in the 250 Texas counties in which the Texas A&M System has a presence.”
Sharp added he believes it is “appropriate and responsible to stop selling any e-cigarette products or vaping paraphernalia, if there are any points of sale within our vast system.”
He said he would like to see the ban in place immediately, “but I understand the practicalities of running major institutions. So I will ask that the bans be implemented as soon as possible.”
Vaping has been linked to serious illness and deadly lung disease, and both Wal-Mart and HEB have halted sale of e-cigarettes in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Sharp’s memo said, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “reported that it is aware of more than 800 cases of lung injury and 12 deaths in the U.S. All of the cases have one element in common: a history of e-cigarette use or vaping.
