Elise Nelson/Winonan

Due to their increasing popularity and presence on campus, Winona State University has placed e-cigarettes and hookahs under a temporary ban until they can decide how they will be handled under school policy.

In an email sent on Aug. 23, Director of Student Conduct and Citizenship Alex Kromminga said increased use of hookahs and e-cigarettes had prompted the university to address the issue.

“It’s not something that we’re entering into lightly,” Kromminga said. “And it’s not because it’s ‘us against the students,’ it’s the overall welfare of all members of our community.”

Kromminga said the moratorium means hookahs aren’t allowed on campus, in residence halls and in vehicles on campus. He said e-cigarettes are being handled like tobacco cigarettes.

“At this time, we are treating them like regular tobacco cigarettes,” Kromminga said, “which means we’re expecting students to go out on the sidewalks or go to those places that individuals who smoke cigarettes go for now, until we can make a determination on how we’re going to address those things.”

Kromminga said the moratorium allows the school time to decide if they will consider e-cigarettes tobacco products and hookahs potential drug paraphernalia. He said he has received some feedback from students who said the university is overstepping their boundaries, but that most reactions were a result of students misunderstanding the moratorium.

Kromminga said because it is a moratorium and not permanent policy change yet, the school will provide some leeway for first infractions.

“Because we’re doing a moratorium, we’re more willing to just give them kind of that first warning type-of-thing,” Kromminga said. “If the student then chooses not to comply, then they go through the general student code of conduct for violating policy.”

Donald Walski, Winona State’s director of security, said there have been no problems since the moratorium was announced.

Kromminga said the length of the moratorium depends on how much revision is required to the current policies on tobacco products or if new policies are needed. He said this decision could take anywhere from a couple weeks to a semester.

Some students see this temporary decision as a necessary move for the university until more research can be done on the effects of e-cigarettes and hookahs.

“The e-cigs are a relatively new product that are gaining popularity by the minute,” Rebecca Erickson, a senior advertising student, said. “In order to establish a rule on those, they need to ban them first and review whether or not they affect other people.”

Though she understands why they are banned, Erickson does not agree entirely. She said it was a good idea for Winona State to ban hookahs; however, she said banning e-cigarettes is not helpful for students trying to decrease their nicotine intake.

“I don’t think it’s that great of an idea to ban e-cigs because that’s the healthier option for smokers,” Erickson said. Kelly Mitzel, a senior English major, agreed.

“I don’t understand how something that can’t harm you is banned just because it looks like something else,” Mitzel said.

Mitzel questioned whether or not the ban will be effective for e-cigarettes, saying they could easily be hidden. She said because of the mild smell of e-cigarettes, it would be easy to smoke them in a concealed fashion without anyone noticing.

Erickson said she believes Winona State will ban e-cigarettes and hookahs just to make enforcement simpler; however, Kromminga emphasized the school’s concern for students’ well-being in this decision.

“I just think that it’s important to know that we didn’t enter into it lightly,” Kromminga said. “We understand that, just like when we did the full smoking ban, we’re going to have student groups who are concerned with it, but what we’re looking for is the overall well-being of the campus.”

Contact Elise at [email protected]