The Texas A&M System Chancellor announced on Tuesday that electronic cigarettes and vaping will soon be banned on all Texas A&M campuses.
Chancellor John Sharp sent the memo to all campus presidents and ask for the ban to be put into place as soon as possible.
"I do not want to take any unnecessary chances with the health of our students, faculty and staff. To that end, I am directing the presidents of each of the 11 universities and the directors of the eight state agencies within The Texas A&M University System to ban the use of e-cigarettes and vaping as soon as possible," Sharp said in the memo.
Smoking is already banned in most places on the Texas A&M campuses, but this will extend that ban to e-cigarettes and vaping.
"This health threat is serious enough that I want to see the ban include every building, outside space, parking lot, garage and laboratory within the Texas A&M System. The ban also should extend to every facility of our $950 million research enterprise and all System properties in the 250 Texas counties in which the Texas A&M System has a presence," Sharp said.
Sharp expressed that he would like the ban to be in place immediately, but said he understands the practicalities of running major institutions, so he ask for the ban to be implemented as soon as is practical.
The university joins the University of Texas System, which banned vaping and tobacco products across its 14 institutions in 2017.
