It’s been a fast growth for electronic cigarettes in the U.S. and in the last couple of years, the general public awareness exploded. With many viral news articles questioning their safety and the FDA stepping in to begin market regulations, just about everyone knows of them now. As the popularity grows, so do studies that demonstrate their real benefits as a smoking cessation aid. NBC News just reported on various companies whom have begun allowing workers to vape with electronic cigarettes at the office.
Ebsco Spring Company in Tulsa , Oklahoma has a vaping friendly policy. Company CEO, Cheryl Dooley, purchased all of her smoking employees electronic cigarette vaporizing devices and gave them green light to use them in the office, at their desk. She decided to do so after she was able to kick her 40 year old smoking habit with the help of a vaporizer. She had been diagnosed with a blood clot in her lung decided she wanted to help her employees and second family, quit sooner than later. Another thing she noted was that productivity was up, no one was leaving the workstation for extra smoke breaks and the smoking area quickly became deserted.
These types of workplaces are far and between. Many large companies such as AT&T and Home Depot still treat e-cigarettes as tobacco analogues and refuse to change their policy. While other smaller offices will often ‘tolerate’ moderate usage. Many managers argue that it would be hard to prohibit. Not only are the workers at their desk, but it eliminates the lingering smoke odor all together. More production, less breaks and no foul odors, who can argue with that?
President of Safety Harbour Insurance Inc., Carol Keiling said smoking tobacco was a distraction for some of her employees and she would have to often ask clients to wait for a worker whom happened to be smoking outside at the wrong moment. She first refused to allow indoor vaping until realizing there was no odor left and decided not to force the non-smoking vapers to have to go stand next to smokers outside. She now allows her ex-smoking e-cigarette using employees to use their personal vaporizers freely at their desks just as long as there are no clients to attend to.
Keiling also brought an important advantage up, saying that the now ex-smokers we’re saving the company considerable health insurance costs. She also added that workers are less fidgety when sitting with a client for extended periods, no more coughing sounds every morning, and when they have a craving, they can simply go around the corner office and take a few puffs of vapor.
It’s hard to call it right now, but we should at least allow vaping outside out of smoking designated areas. What would not be fair would be to throw ex-smokers in with and around tobacco smoking, after they had to work so hard to quit the habit and be smoke free.