Since December of last year, the Kittitas County Public Health Department has been working on a law that will ban electronic cigarettes in any public place, excluding dedicated vape shops.

This ordinance would follow a recent state law which has banned electronic cigarettes on all government property, hospitals and bus stops.

“Vaping” is the term for inhaling and exhaling vapors produced by an electronic cigarette.

Abid Daghlawi, owner of One Love Glass and Vape said that a traditional e-cig is loaded with a flavored juice made of vegetable glycerin with the option of adding nicotine. These are seen as a clean alternative to a traditional cigarette, which is loaded with tar, tobacco and hydrogen cyanide.

“What I like about vape pens is they’re a convenient alternative to cigarettes,” said Brian Brown, junior philosophy and cyber security major.

Vaping, however, is not exclusive to those who have nicotine cravings. Many vapes come with detachable rigs, which allow the user to burn marijuana flower and oils. However, smoking marijuana in public is illegal under Washington state law, though one can smoke on private property.

Daghlawi said that a large portion of the college students who come into his store purchase more vape pens to burn e-juice than vape pens designed to burn marijuana.

“I have no problem when it comes to people vaping on campus,” Brown said. “I have more of a problem with people smoking cigarettes.”

Tayler Cool, junior information technology and administrative management major, believes that most vape users are vaping to quit smoking or to get their fix of nicotine.

Since nicotine is an additive to the juices purchased for e-cigs, many smokers vape to wean themselves off their nicotine cravings.

“I believe vaping is the best anti-smoking campaign there is,” Cool said. “Cigarettes make everything smell like shit!”