Finally! Be free from smoking

Could the time come when allowing electronic cigarettes in the office becomes commonplace? Only two decades ago many employee desks prominently featured an ashtray. Employees and visitors alike could “light up” without the scornful looks that would be common today. Even when non smoking signs appeared it was not unusual for a business person to pull an ashtray from his desk drawer for a customer to use. These days it’s not even safe to ask if you can smoke inside a building.

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.

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.

Employees who frequently leave their desk to smoke are detrimental to the bottom line of their employer. Even a 10 minute absence requires the employee to lose more work time as he re-focuses on the work he was doing before the break. Phones aren’t answered and non-smoking co-workers often resent breaks taken by smokers. Offers to provide help for employees who want to quit smoking have been creatively used by businesses. Offers pf cash awards, free counseling and free nicotine replacement products to encourage smokers to quit were well received. CEO’s with less compassion simply instituted strict policies that prohibit smoking at work.

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 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.

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.

As the popularity of the best electronic cigarettes grows and benefits are more widely understood and accepted, e-cigarettes in the workplace may become an accepted practice for both employers and employees. It may be commonplace in five years to see vapor trails in the offices of businesses everywhere.

Mary Kay Rivers is an expert on all facets of electronic cigarettes. Her articles about what would change if all smokers would start buying e-cigarettes or about the best e-cigarette have become very famous.

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