Allowing electronic cigarettes in the office might be an acceptable business practice in years to come. Time was, almost every desk in every office contained an ashtray for the use of employees and customers alike. Ten years ago a business might display a “non smoking” sign but the manager would pull an ashtray from his desk drawer after closing the door or at the request of a visitor. Smoking is now considered an embarrassing habit and seems to be prohibited everywhere you go. These days, no smoking signs really do mean no smoking.
Break rooms may be provided and often divided into sections for smokers and non-smokers. If you work in any government building you will go outside to indulge your habit. Many businesses have followed the same path. It’s not uncommon to notice small groups of people huddled outside the entrance to a business as they get their nicotine “fix”. As a result, offices are cleaner and smell better. Businesses have reduced the risk of fire posed by burning cigarettes.
Complaints of smokers have quieted in recent years as they accept the strong anti-smoking attitude of the general public. They are now often reduced to defending themselves against business customers who complain when workers are allowed to smoke outside the entrance of a business. Some employers have provided covered outdoor areas with tables and chairs for the use of smoking employees. This is one solution and allows smoking areas to be located away from the building when there is sufficient outdoor space available.
Workers who frequently leave their desk for a quick smoke are costly to the bottom line of any business. Work is not being done and phones are not answered. Though the absence may be only for a few minutes additional time is lost as the employee recovers his focus after returning from a break. Creative offers were well accepted when businesses began to offer aid designed to help workers stop smoking. Counseling sessions, free drug prescriptions and free nicotine replacement patches and gums were popular initially with employees. Cash awards were very popular.
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.
Electronic cigarettes produce a vapor that quickly dissipates like steam and is not harmful to anyone in the smoker’s vicinity. Walls and ceilings do not become dark with the tar from tobacco smoke in a room where e-cigs are used. Nasty odors released by the chemical compounds of burning tobacco are totally absent with e-cigarettes. The use of e-cigs in an office environment would seem a logical way to meet the needs of smokers without any effects to other workers. Unlike other nicotine replacement products, e-cigarettes are not invisible. The use of electronic cigarettes in the office may be an acceptable practice in the future.
The e-cig looks like a cigarette but may also be shaped like a ball point pen. Many brands closely resemble the tobacco version they are designed to replace and that image alone can cause a negative reaction among those who oppose smoking. The biggest hurdle will be meeting the objections of those who are against any form of nicotine use whether safe or not.
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.
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