Dear UMD Campus Community:
In September, the Duluth City Council passed ordinances related to the use of e-cigarettes. As a result, in Duluth the use of e-cigarettes is now banned in places where conventional cigarette smoking is prohibited. In general, City of Duluth ordinances are not applicable on the UMD campus. We are our own municipality. On a related note, the Hermantown City Council approved a six-month moratorium on indoor use of e-cigarettes.
Our current smoking policy reads: "Smoking is prohibited on all UMD property." This does not address directly the use of e-cigarettes. Members of my Cabinet have received inquiries as to whether e-cigarette use is permitted under the policy, and this led to a recent discussion of the topic.
Last spring I asked VCs Seymour and Erwin to charge a group of faculty, staff and students to provide recommendations on enhancing and improving compliance with the current smoking policy. I have asked this task force to study the issue of e-cigarette use as well.
In the meantime, the Cabinet has approved a temporary ban on the use of e-cigarettes on campus for this academic year, or until such time as we receive a recommendation from the task force as to whether or not to permanently ban the use of e-cigarettes.
Please direct any questions you have on the subject to Vice Chancellor Erwin at vcsl@d.umn.edu
Sincerely,
Lendley C. Black
Chancellor
________________
Chancellor's Office
University of Minnesota Duluth
515 Darland Administration Building
1049 University Drive
Duluth, MN 55812
218.726.7106
218.726.6535 (fax)
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