Using E-Cigaretes On Work: Tips For Indoor Vaping

 

E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that create an aerosol by heating nicotine and flavorings that people inhale. To some extent, it is replacing the habit of smoking, but the ratio of smokers switching to vaping is still minimum. The skyrocketing popularity of E-cigarettes has contributed to their enormous usage among youth and adults. Its growing popularity is increasing a concern in employers to discourage this habit after smoking. It is crazy how, with time, no smoking label can get replaced with no vaping. . A vaper must also assure the legal and company policy before taking his E-cigarette kits to the workplace.

Guidelines for Indoor Vaping

Making a guideline for indoor vaping, the employers have to consider legal and social parameters to define rules without abiding by legal and social responsibilities.  

Legal Stance On Vaping On Work-Place

The laws about smoking and vaping are different in different regions of the world. In the UK, there is no restriction on making, selling, and buying vapes, however, they are ascribed as unhealthy and as risky as cigarettes. England banned smoking in 2007, under the Health Act 2006. But vaping has not been included in the legislation. The UK has about 2.8 million e-cigarette users, which have raised concern in the lawmakers. As of now, it is not categorically stated that they are illegal. But for allowing vaping in a workplace, anyone should know the legal boundaries otherwise, they may have to pay the price of the ignorance.

Company Policy

Despite the country’s legal stances, businesses are themselves able to ban the usage of e-cigarettes. All companies have their own policies. So, it is significant to check whether the policy has prohibited any endorsements that relate to e-cigarettes. Also, many businesses in the UK implement a smoking law for vaping, under which smoking is considered unlawful in any space. Businesses are fined up to 2,500 if they do not control their employees from smoking., Therefore, many corporate policies integrate the smoking policy with vaping. So, a company can make its policy of its own according to legal, personal, and social duties.  

Bind With Work Ethics And Social Duty

Even if vaping is legal and company policy does not stress defining lines, the companies must look into their social duties. Workplaces have different people of different thoughts, ideas, and feelings. It is highly unethical to make others uncomfortable with the act of vaping. Many people cannot stand by someone who vapes. Especially when they realize that vaping is unhealthy. As a social responsibility, companies need to look at this aspect. Companies can find a middle way of completely allowing and disallowing vaping. They can give e-cigarette users a separate zone or outside the premises to ensure the safety of other employees.

Read also: What to Avoid While Vaping?

Can Companies Ban E-Cigarettes In Workplaces?

There are schools of thought about e-cigarettes- the proponents and opponents. The proponents say that the research does not prove e-cigarettes are injurious to health, whereas, its opponents have the notion that they contain nicotine, carcinogens, and toxic materials. It is true that a lot of research is required to completely define that e-cigarettes have health risks, and it is also true that it has ultrafine particles, volatile organic compounds, hazardous flavors, and heavy metals as lead, tin, and nickel. So, when it comes to companies, they can definitely ban them in workplaces. The only thing to keep in the mind is setting boundaries for vaper and non-vaper employees.

Last Words

In a nutshell, employers should decide whether they should let their employees use e-cigarettes or not. But there are a few things that they need to consider. They include the state’s legal standing, company policy, and the perspective of the majority of employees.