Electronic Cigarettes on Hospital Campuses
1
Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
2
University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
The current affiliation of Isaiah Fischer-Brown is: School of Arts and Sciences, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
Academic Editors: Coral Gartner and Britta Wigginton
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(1), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010087
Received: 24 November 2015 / Revised: 18 December 2015 / Accepted: 23 December 2015 / Published: 29 December 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tobacco Control 2015)
Smoke and tobacco-free policies on hospital campuses have become more prevalent across the U.S. and Europe, de-normalizing smoking and reducing secondhand smoke exposure on hospital grounds. Concerns about the increasing use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and the impact of such use on smoke and tobacco-free policies have arisen, but to date, no systematic data describes e-cigarette policies on hospital campuses. The study surveyed all hospitals in North Carolina (n = 121) to assess what proportion of hospitals have developed e-cigarette policies, how policies have been implemented and communicated, and what motivators and barriers have influenced the development of e-cigarette regulations. Seventy-five hospitals (62%) completed the survey. Over 80% of hospitals reported the existence of a policy regulating the use of e-cigarettes on campus and roughly half of the hospitals without a current e-cigarette policy are likely to develop one within the next year. Most e-cigarette policies have been incorporated into existing tobacco-free policies with few reported barriers, though effective communication of e-cigarette policies is lacking. The majority of hospitals strongly agree that e-cigarette use on campus should be prohibited for staff, patients, and visitors. Widespread incorporation of e-cigarette policies into existing hospital smoke and tobacco-free campus policies is feasible but needs communication to staff, patients, and visitors.
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Keywords:
electronic cigarettes; smoke-free policy; tobacco products
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Meernik, C.; Baker, H.M.; Paci, K.; Fischer-Brown, I.; Dunlap, D.; Goldstein, A.O. Electronic Cigarettes on Hospital Campuses. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13, 87.
AMA Style
Meernik C, Baker HM, Paci K, Fischer-Brown I, Dunlap D, Goldstein AO. Electronic Cigarettes on Hospital Campuses. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2016; 13(1):87.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMeernik, Clare; Baker, Hannah M.; Paci, Karina; Fischer-Brown, Isaiah; Dunlap, Daniel; Goldstein, Adam O. 2016. "Electronic Cigarettes on Hospital Campuses" Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 13, no. 1: 87.
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