According to a survey done by UNC researchers, approximately 80 percent of North Carolina hospitals have a written policy regarding the use of E-cigarettes. Research associate Clare Meernik said the vast majority of these hospitals ban the use of E-cigarettes anywhere on their campus.

“I think it’s a really necessary step, there are a lot of unanswered questions about E-cigarettes,” said Meernik. “We are still unclear about the health effects of E-cigarettes and especially long term health effects; it hasn’t been around and studied long enough so it’s really important that hospitals and health care organizations kind of take the lead in this.”

Many hospitals have added E-cigarettes to their tobacco-free policies, which Meernik said is a step in the right direction, but since E-cigarettes are relatively new, people might be unsure of what the rules are.

“A lot of people are just unclear about the policy, whether they’re patients or visitors at a hospital and there is not proper signage or a lack of signage surrounding what the policies are regarding tobacco-free or smoke-free,” said Meerknik.

E-cigarettes use a small battery to vaporize a liquid that usually contains nicotine to simulate a smoking experience.

“Particularly when the tobacco-free or smoke-free policy incorporates E-cigarettes, a lot of times signage isn’t clear that E-cigarettes are banned, it might just say smoke-free or tobacco-free,” said Meernick.

While many might view E-cigarettes as a healthy alternative to traditional cigarettes, Meernik worries that their acceptance might backtrack on the negative stigma around public smoking.

“You see someone smoking an E-cigarette and it’s kind of re-normalizing that smoking behavior and taking a step back on the progress we’ve made of de-normalizing smoking in public places,” said Meernik.

This is the first study of E-cigarette polices in hospitals in the state and Meernik said so far she has seen strong support and little resistance to hospitals banning E-cigarettes.

Durham County also incorporated E-cigarettes into the county’s smoking ban starting January 1.

Related Stories
‹
UNC Study: 'Habitual' Social Media Use Changes Kids' Brain Development
Do you remember the time before social media? For children and young adults, social media is a significant part of their lives — and we’re still learning how it’s affecting them.  A study conducted by UNC researchers found a habitual checking of social media can impact brain development in adolescents. 
UNC Cancer Hospital Renamed to Honor State Leader
Marc Basnight was North Carolina’s longest-serving legislative leader. After his death, state legislatures wanted to find a way to honor him.
UNC and NC State Joint Engineering Program Delivers Emergency Ventilator Design
More than 70 percent of North Carolina ventilators are currently available to help COVID-19 patients in critical condition. But with hospitalizations continuing to hit record levels in the state and cases rising elsewhere in the U.S., the need for ventilators is still high. Months ago, a team of UNC and NC State students, faculty and […]
UNC Researcher on COVID, At-Risk Populations: 'We Are Not Out of the Woods'
As coronavirus cases in North Carolina continue to rise, researchers and health officials are expressing concerns for at-risk groups – and that means more than just the elderly population. Dr. Giselle Corbie-Smith is a UNC Professor of Social Medicine, the Director of the Center of Health Equity Research and a Professor of Internal Medicine. She […]
UNC Medical Students Create Playbooks to Help Prep Healthcare Worker For COVID-19
On Thursday, North Carolina reported its highest amount of coronavirus-related hospitalizations to date, with only 13 percent of Intensive Care Unit beds available across the state. This stress puts a demand on health care workers and creates a need for more helping hands. Two UNC medical students’ recent project is offering a tool to prepare […]
UNC Pushes Back Against Research Allegations in The Athletic
UNC interim chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz has long been viewed as one of the leading concussion researchers in the world in recent years. But a report published in The Athletic this week claimed that for years UNC student-athletes, particularly football players, were testing positive for ADHD at abnormally high rates – which the report claims could […]
UNC Hospitals Accreditation Affected After Problems Found
A national accrediting agency has placed UNC Hospitals on “preliminary denial of accreditation status” after finding problems during a recent review. UNC Health Care confirmed the decision by the Joint Commission in a statement Friday but didn’t detail the problems. It said the status would remain in effect until another survey is completed. The statement […]
New UNC Center to Research Technology's Impact on Democracy
UNC announced its plans for a new research center on Monday that will study the ways technology is changing democracy in the digital age. The Center for Information, Technology and Public Life will look to discover empirical numbers on ways technologies impact and interact with society. Topics like fake news, the sales of data to […]
NC Policy Collaboratory to Fund GenX Research
The North Carolina Policy Collaboratory at UNC recently announced $430,000 in grants for three research projects regarding contaminants in water supplies in North Carolina, including GenX – a potentially toxic industrial compound that has been detected in the Cape Fear River. The collaboratory, which has been funded by the state legislature for two years, exclusively […]
UNC Autism Research Center Announces New Fundraising Campaign
The UNC Autism Research Center is setting a goal to raise $50k to fund interdisciplinary postdoctoral research. The fundraising campaign was launched on April 2, which is World Autism Day. UNC Autism Research Center project manager Allison Zoller says in addition to funding the position, she believes the fundraiser will boost awareness for the center. […]
›