The National Park Service controls the National Parks and monuments throughout the United States, and is in charge of making decisions that will impact both the park land itself as well as the experience of the visitors to National Parks. On Monday, September 12 the National Park Service enacted a regulation that would make it not be allowed to utilize e-cigarette or vaping equipment within any area of a National Park where a previous designation of “no smoking’ had been in place. This has created controversy in the “vaping” community due to the fact that it has been established that the process of vaping and the process of smoking tobacco products are different. Under the Clean Indoor Air Act, those utilizing tobacco products are restricted to specific areas when in public, and according to the specifics of the act “vaping” is not regulated in the same way due to the fact that there is no combustion of tobacco, nor any introduction of smoke into the atmosphere. Vaping is more along the lines of the use of an inhaler for asthma, but now according to the National Park Service the two are viewed as the same thing.
It is essentially irrelevant to argue about the control of one over another, or the reasons behind the decision. It is debatable if the regulations are in place to reduce fire risks, as have been the case for tobacco product use, or if it is to control the introduction of particulate matter into public spaces. The decision stands at this point, and vaping is no longer allowed in National Parks. One reason this is an important discussion is that National Parks near Las Vegas are often toured by visitors who utilize these e-cig products, and who are allowed to utilize them legally in Las Vegas itself. The assumption that they would be allowed to utilize the same legal products within a state park as they are within public spaces in Las Vegas is confusing to visitors, and could potentially lead to improper actions. No matter what, the Park Service statements have been clear that they are concerned about the safety and well being of park employees and visitors alike, and the decision to prohibit the use of vaping equipment is not done to make a statement, but instead is simply done to preserve the purity of the air in these spaces.
Touring companies like Bindlestiff Tours, who provide tours to National Parks from Las Vegas, encourage all of our guests to understand that they will not be allowed to utilize e-cigarette products or personal vaporizers within our vans during transport to and from the National Parks, but also they will no longer be allowed to utilize them within the public spaces that have been designated as no smoking within the parks themselves. Although the National Park Service notes that there are no “no smoking” signage within public parks, they have never had much push back with regards to the rules, and do not expect any from those using personal vaporizers.