Tuesday, October 29, 2013
eCigarettes to Be Banned from Workplaces?
Occupational Health & Safety: Cigarettes, pipes, and all smoking devices have been banned from workplaces by a number of states in recent years. According to Workforce.com, smoking in the workplace has been banned by 29 states and the District of Columbia. With the advent of the eCigarette, however, comes a new debate: Do they fall under the category of "smoking"?
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While I appreciate the surge in popularity in eCigarettes and their apparent lack of health risks for those who are around smokers, I would highly discourage permitting them in the workplace. First of all, it is likely that many people have never heard of eCigarettes or would not recognize one, and would believe that the "smoke" emitted from them came from real cigarettes, thus making these innocent workers uncomfortable. Secondly, the act of smoking would be a distraction to coworkers. In monotonous 9am meetings, it is hard enough to pay attention without curling wisps of vapor sweeping around the room. Workers should remain on task in the workplace, and this can only happen if eCigarettes are banned.
Vapor still appears like smoke. Even if there aren't side effects of inhaling the vapor it still has a scent and can easily be just as annoying to people around them. It seems unfair to allow people to smoke these in the work place, but still preferable to allow these as an alternative for other locations in which people still smoke at work. I worked at a restaurant where the waitresses would smoke in the kitchen and one of the reasons I quit was that I could not deal with having to inhale that much smoke every shift. E-cigarettes would have been a nuisance but not as much of one.
People have this misconception that E-cigarretes are healthier before you because they do not produce any smoke but instead are in theory a water vapor... A water vapor....your inhaling water vapor E-cigarretes are not healthier for you but as a water vapor (until proven otherwise) it does not prove any health risks to patrons around you because there are (in theory) no contaminates in the vapor that can be of concern to second hand smoke.
So back to this article though, the article is just saying that "we think its actually not safe for people around you but we aren't sure" great well let us know when you have an answer.
People are not comfortable around cigarettes, which I totally understand. Like it says in the article, the water vapor still release chemicals into the air. While I make the decision to fill my body with all the crap, but I do believe that I would never make that decision for someone else. I do not know enough myself about the dangers of inhaling what the eCiggs emit, but if it really can bother other people and there are possible carcinogens then I do agree with those who commented above me, I would not be devastated if eCiggs were banned.
Recently I realized how many friends started to smoke eCigarettes. All of my Korean friends who used to smoke outside of building during every break now started to smoke inside the class or inside the building because eCigarettes do not emit bad smoke. I personally do not have any strong opinion whether I think they should be banned from workplaces or not because I do not have accurate information of its effect. Also, when considering between cigarette and eCigarette, I find eCigarette to be way less unpleasant since it does not smell bad. After reading this article, I tried to find whether all of eCigarettes' benefits stated in advertisement are true or not. However, it says that since there are no significant research and data, it is hard to prove the statement that eCigarettes are healthier, help smokers quit smoking, and do not have any effect on second hand smoker. If any research is found that eCigarette is harmful to second hand smokers, I agree that they should be banned from workplaces. Also, besides banning from Workplaces, I think there should be some kind of regulations on eCigarette. I think the advertisement is trying hard to emphasize that eCigarette is completely different from Cigarette, but still it is addictive and may be harmful. I heard kids and teens are allowed to purchase them and I think this should be regulated soon.
I feel that there is a tradeoff with eCigarettes. They are in some ways healthier than regular cigarettes, but have health side effects of their own. While they are intended to help smokes quit smoking, to break their cigarette habit, they form their own habit that is potentially as physiologically addictive. My personal feelings towards eCigarettes are somewhat the same as with normal cigarettes. What i find to be the biggest bother to me is the second hand smell of smokers, with eCigarettes it is not the same smell, but there is still a lingering smell depending on the vapor that i find bad.
I personally do not have that strong of an opinion either way with this topic, but I do have specific thoughts that I feel like sharing. eCigarettes are an incredibly interesting advancement in the field, and I feel that they are going to continue to make advancements with these, and they will soon overtake the actual tobacco industry. I personally do not mind the use of eCigarettes in public spaces because, to me, they are just like perfume. If someone smokes an eCigarette with a flavored vapor, it is just as if someone had sprayed Febreeze, or a perfume. A good old pal of mine likes to smoke his eCigarette in public places, and I actually quite enjoy the smell of the vapor when he does. To me, if it is not dangerous, then I don't see why it should be banned, but I do think that it could get out of hand. Until it gets out of hand, I don't see why there is a need to ban something that may be helping a worker fix an issue of theirs.
Personally, I think eCigarettes are a good transition for smokers to help them quit and banning them from the workplace is definitely a good way to help that process. Allowing them to use the eCigarettes in the workplace only gives them an excuse to use them more frequently. This excuse to use them more often is not going to help them quit. In addition it is a distraction to the one smoking and those around the person smoking. I appreciate the fact many places are banning this from being something that happens.
I was working at the Benedum Center last week when I saw one of the stagehands smoking an e-cigarette offstage. It startled me because I just don't know enough about e-cigarettes. If they don't emit any harmful chemicals into the air, then I don't mind being around them, but if they do, I don't think they should be allowed in the workplace at all. I agree with many of the previous commenters in that allowing smokers who are trying to quit to use e-cigarettes in the workplace is a great way of supporting them in their efforts to be healthier. That being said, though, if there's any potential for other employees to be harmed by the practice, then those employees who are trying to quit need to take it outside, and not on company time. No one smoking a cigarette, e-cigarette or not, should be able to take a smoke break during the time that they are getting paid to work. If that means they work a longer overall day so they can take a few fifteen minute breaks, fine, but no employees of mine would ever be getting paid to take a smoke break.
First of all, I appreciate the invention of eCigarettes in that they are helping people quit smoking. However, I think that they should be banned in workplaces. Even though the vapor is not "as bad" as cigarette smoke, the effects of it are not studied for health issues. Therefore, we should nip this in the bud and take them outside. I also do not believe that just because they're not cigarettes that they can be smoked anywhere. There are designated smoking areas, why can't they encompass eCigarettes as well? Like Chris, I wonder if there's some aspect of psychological addiction of eCigarettes as well. Overall, let's hold off on smoking them inside until further research on the effects have been researched.
I personally smoke my ecigarette daily and while I have no reason to believe that they are causing me any serious health risks there is honestly just not enough information about them to be sure but I have done research on the ingredients in the vapor liquid and whether they could affect others in a second hand way. Because I could not find anything I continue to smoke them but I do still try and not blow smoke at people not because I'm worried it could effect them but because its just rude. But who knows maybe they'll end up just like cigarettes and we'll realize that their killing us all.
I think that the most important factor to consider is how much smoking an eCigarette affects the other people around you. We still don't know if the second hand "smoke" they produce is dangerous and we do know that it is equally as irritating. There is no reason to risk them being a danger to others or any pressing need for them in the work place, so I would ban them until further notice.
I've never heard of eCigarettes. I've heard of fake cigarettes that do produce smoke so that you feel like you are smoking.
My personal opinion is that eCigarettes should be banned. I don't know if they are healthy or not, so I personally just don't want to be around anyone that smokes them.
I think that keeping them because they improve improve employee productivity, as employees will not have to take a smoke break is a ridiculous reason to allow them.
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