With the
explosion in popularity of e-cigarettes, cities, restaurants, campuses, public transit organizations and many others are evaluating the product to see where it fits in smoking policies.
For many, it's toeing the line. For example,
New York City included e-cigarettes in its existing Smoke Free Air Act to ban them where smoking is prohibited. But on the opposite end, the University of California Irvine opted to
allow e-cigarettes on campus, despite a campus-wide smoking ban being in place.
So where does DART stand on the matter?
After being researched by DART's legal counsel and police, the decision was made to
include e-cigarettes in DART's existing smoking policy outlined in the
Code of Conduct. The policy states:
Section 2.02. Prohibited Conduct and Enforcement.
a. A person is prohibited from committing the following acts on a DART vehicle, DART facility, or DART property unless otherwise specified in this Section:
1. Smoke or expel the residue of any tobacco product including chewing tobacco on a DART vehicle or at a DART facility;
Translation: No smoking or spitting tobacco on DART vehicles or DART property, which includes train platforms, bus transit centers and bus stops.
A deciding factor for DART was a
U.S. Appeals Court ruling in 2010 determined that e-cigarettes were to be regulated as tobacco products.
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