Austin, Texas – With e-cigarette use on the rise, a public health organization in Texas is changing the script and focusing on alternative tobacco products during this year’s Great American Smokeout.

The Texas Legislature is again, for the fifth session in a row, considering a statewide ban on smoking in public places. One of the important concerns is whether this is yet another example of government intrusion. It is not, and Texans will be healthier if a statewide ban passes.

It’s been more than 50 years since the first surgeon general’s report on tobacco and health. Yet, tobacco use, primarily from cigarette smoking, is still the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.

While many universities continue to grapple with unclear policies regarding recently popular electronic cigarettes, UT set a clear ban on them during the 2012 tobacco-free initiative. 

Adrienne Howarth-Moore, director of UT’s Human Resource Services, said the decision to include other smoking devices that do not directly use tobacco, including e-cigarettes, in the tobacco-free campus initiative was based in part on the unknown potential health risks e-cigarettes pose to nonsmokers.