Smoking Electronic Cigarettes At Your Workplace? Could It Be Commonplace In the Future?
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.
The first non-smoking programs offered by business leaders were very popular. Eventually, those who truly wanted to quit smoking became non-smoker. The pool of people anxious or even willing to participate in non-smoking program narrowed. The time is approaching when smoking employees will be only those who have no interest in quitting. Allowing electronic cigarettes at the workplace could be a logical, though controversial, solution.
People nearby are not harmed by the vapor produced by e-cigarettes. This alternative smoking product fills the need for nicotine while avoiding the release of chemical compounds created by tobacco when it burns. Walls and ceilings in offices are not coated with tar from tobacco smoke and there is no disgusting odor of stale smoke. Unlike other nicotine replacement products, e-cigarettes are not invisible. If you use a patch, gum or a lozenge to replace cigarettes no one knows you are doing so.
E-cigarettes often look like the tobacco version. Just the appearance of a cigarette is enough to cause a negative reaction in non-smokers even though no tobacco is involved. Some e-cigs are shaped like a ball point pen and many are now chosen because they don’t look like a standard cigarette but have unusual and interesting logos and colors. Proposals to add electronic cigarettes in the workplace will need to overcome negative attitudes of committed non-smokers.
E-cigarette popularity and use continues to grow with consumers looking for a safer alternative to tobacco. Electronic cigarettes at the workplace could be a common sight five years from now as the true facts and benefits of e-cigs become more widely known and accepted.
Mary Kay Rivers has become an acclaimed expert on all aspects of electronic cigarettes. Her publications about how the world could change with e-cigarettes or about the best electronic cigarette are very popular.
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