Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are not prohibited in relation to the new tobacco-free policy because they do not use tobacco, but they cannot be used indoors.

Eugene Dial, vice president of student affairs and enrollment services, said that because the policy is strictly relating to tobacco use, e-cigarettes cannot be included.

“It’s not a no-smoking policy, it’s a tobacco-free policy,” Dial said.

E-cigarettes contain a battery, heating element and a liquid. The heating element vaporizes the liquid for users to receive the taste or flavor of the e-cigarette.

Craig Jaccuzzo, director of University Police, said that e-cigarettes are meant to be respectful of other people because they do not emit smoke into the air.

“It looks like a cigarette,” Jaccuzzo said. “It’s usually a little thicker and bulkier.”

Melanie Smith, English senior from Raceland, said that she uses electronic cigarettes.

“My boyfriend and I actually sell them,” Smith said. “We’ve found that there are a lot of smokers switching over to it.”

Smith said that people should be aware of the differences between regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

She said that regular cigarettes include tobacco and emit smoke.

“There are some flavored tobaccos,” Smith said, “but for the most part, the experience with regular cigarettes is the tobacco itself.”

She said that when someone inhales from an e-cigarette, they inhale vegetable glycerin, optional flavoring and nicotine.

In e-cigarettes, “there are none of the carcinogens that tobacco has,” Smith said.

Whitney Collins, sociology sophomore from Thibodaux, said that she does not mind e-cigarettes.

“The ‘smoke’ is just vapor, so I can’t see why anyone would be bothered by it,” Collins said.

Brian Waitz, business administration senior from Houma, said that some of his friends use e-cigarettes because they do not get a smoke break at work.

“Most of the time you don’t even notice they do it,” Waitz said.

Dial said that although the tobacco-free policy does not address tobacco-free products, e-cigarettes are only allowed outside because there is another policy that does not allow smoking indoors.

Craig Jaccuzzo, director of University Police, said that he knows enforcement of the new policy is going to be a challenge.

“Whenever people have any kind of dependency or addiction, they get creative and figure out ways to satisfy their needs by going around the rules,” Jaccuzzo said.

Jaccuzzo said that anyone who does not feel comfortable confronting another person can call University Police to enforce that policy or ask an authority figure who is close by.

“We don’t want you to argue with them,” Dial said.

Dial said that if a person does not respond when “you politely ask,” that person should be reported to student life or human resources.