The
recent emergence of electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes in society
has caused some confusion and consternation for airlines, pubs,
restaurants and others. E-cigarettes look like real cigarettes and give
off water vapour, which can look like smoke. They atomise a liquid
containing nicotine, which means that the "smoker" gets a nicotine hit
in a way quite similar to conventional smoking.
E-cigarettes are
not covered under the smoking ban, so anyone using one is not breaking
the law and neither are the owners of pubs and restaurants if they
permit their use on the premises. However, there is a perception
problem with them and some organisations have decided to ban their use
because they are worried about other customers thinking that people are
actually smoking. Some airlines have also banned their use.
So should
employers ban their use at work? This will depend on the type of
workplace and whether you believe the benefits of permitting their use
outweigh any negativity. For instance, if your staff drive company
branded vehicles you may wish to ban their use in the vehicles in order
to maintain a positive public perception of your company - if a member
of the public sees one of your drivers puffing on an e-cigarette they
may well think it is real.
In an office
environment, which may not be open to the public, the issue will be the
impact on other staff. For instance, some smokers and those who have
recently quit report that seeing people use e-cigarettes increases their
own cravings. Also the BMA have questioned whether the use of
e-cigarettes does actually help people to stop smoking in a briefing on the matter.
They
advise other nicotine replacement therapies (such as patches) should be
used in preference. So the use of e-cigarettes cannot really be
justified under any workplace effort to support people who wish to stop
smoking.
Please contact us if you would like some help formulating a policy for the use of e-cigarettes.
