E-Smoking At Your Office? Could It Become Acceptable In the Near Future?

February 27th, 2010 · No Comments

by Mary Kay Rivers

A well used ashtray was a prominent feature on every office desk twenty or thirty years ago. Ten years ago there might be a non smoking sign displayed on the wall but the supervisor would quickly produce an ashtray from his desk drawer for any visitor asking to smoke and would close the office door and indulge in a smoke himself on occasion. Today a request to smoke in a place of business would expose you to a sharp “no” and critical looks from those around you.

You may still find some break rooms offered by large company where smoking and non-smoking sections coexist. Government employees have long been required to leave the building before lighting up. A small group of employees getting a nicotine “fix” is often noticed by those entering a building. Workplaces that are not polluted with second hand smoke are cleaner and smell better. Another benefit is the reduction in fire hazard when burning tobacco products aren’t permitted.

Most smokers no longer complain when they are required to leave the building to smoke. They often find the need to defend themselves against non-smokers who complain even when workers are smoking out of doors. This has led businesses to establish outdoor smoking areas with seating and protection from the sun. These areas are often a feature of businesses with sufficient outdoor space to permit separating the smoking area from the business entrance.

There is a financial downside for business where employees frequently leave their work stations to smoke. There is no one to answer the phone or answer a question, no work is being done and additional work time is lost when the worker returns to his desk and has to refocus on where he was on a project before going for a smoke. Business leaders have offered clinics, free nicotine replacement products and even cash awards to those employees who quit smoking. More dictatorial bosses have refused to hire smokers and have made non-smoking a condition of continued employment.

After spending tens of thousands of dollars on stop smoking programs, employers are left with a small group of smokers who have no interest in quitting. Allowing electronic cigarettes at the workplace could provide a solution for employers in years to come. Continuing to conduct stop smoking sessions is not a good use of resources if the remaining group of smoking employees shows no inclination to abandon their tobacco habit.

People around you are not affected or harmed in any way by the vapor of an electronic cigarette. The ceilings and walls do not become coated with the tar residue of tobacco and rooms are not filled with foul odors. Smokers can fill their need for nicotine without leaving their work space. Nicotine gums, lozenges and patches have one thing in common. They are invisible to those around you. It will be necessary to overcome negative reactions from those opposed to any type of smoking when requests to add electronic cigarettes to the workplace are made by employees.

The cigarette shaped e-cig is the most common design but the mouthpiece may also be purchased shaped like the plastic tip on a small cigar. Designs often replicate the tobacco cigarette closely. That alone can cause a negative reaction when adding electronic cigarettes to the office is proposed. Some anti-smokers are against use of anything that resembles the use of tobacco in any way.

The benefits of using e-cigarettes as a tobacco alternative are becoming more widely known and understood. The popularity of the products is exploding and it’s very possible that only a few years in the future e-cigarettes will be totally accepted in the office.

About the Author:

Mary Kay Rivers has become an acclaimed expert on all aspects of electronic cigarettes. Her publications about what would happen if everyone stopped smoking traditional cigarettes or about the best electronic cigarette are well-known.

Tags: Health Products