Employer threatening to ban e-cigs...

My local Tesco has this policy in effect, any employee who uses E-Cigs has to vape in the smokers area, they cant even go to their cars and vape because its a covered car park and classed as an internal space.
 
I don't smoke, never had, but I'm sick of the gov't (or local gov't in this case) micromanaging the population. Sure, tobacco is not healthy, but neither is alcohol nor chocolate. If the sources I read are reliable, the taxes from these products actually exceed the related healthcare costs. Jobs are short enough as they are and taking away the tobacco industry means less job vacancies and it will create a bigger black market. Bigger black market means the police will be even more understaffed than they already are because the gov't won't fund extra officers per force / area.
 
Assistance for employees to give up smoking

The Council will take steps to encourage and support employees who wish to give up smoking, primarily by enabling access to Oxfordshire Smoking Advice Service.
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Yes and guess what- Oxfordshire Smoking Advice Service will recommend you take up vaping lol.
 
Tefal said:
They can smell bad and if you're smoking the thing you're probably not working, unless your job only requires one hand.
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Smell bad? They smell like whatever flavour you have. Most people I know say they like the smell of my caramel tobacco.

As for other point, my workplace don't ban the use of personal mobile phones or chatting to colleagues which both take you away from work too. Shall we ban people ban eating or drinking tea/coffe too as last time I checked that mug and sandwich don't levitate themselves and require the use of at least one hand.

Gackt said:
You could always, I dunno, go outside and have your fake cigarette. The idea behind them is an alternative to smoking, and an aid to quitting. Of course part of quitting is breaking the habit, but you're still 'smoking' even if you want to call it 'vaping' instead.

Seems like a bit of a petty thing to fight against, a lot of energy wasted over a trivial matter.
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Ha ha, "fake cigarette". Funny guy, do you call MP3 players 'fake walkmans' too?

So I should go outside with the smokers and passive smoke then?

Mr Badger said:
I'm surprised they aren't using the health and safety angle: e-cigs can come from anywhere no one knows for sure what noxious chemicals might be released. Employers are normally paranoid about anything where they are at risk of being sued or prosecuted.
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Only that argument is too easy to rebut on the basis that it is bollards.
 
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Can you imagine walking up to the butchers counter at Morrisons and the butcher is stood there vaping on a E-Cig whilst cutting your steak..

No thanks
 
Janesy B said:
Bit like using Methadone to come off Heroin when you never used it in the first place.
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Not really. More a way to enjoy nicotine without dealing with the assured health issues of burning tobacco. You're still getting "the real thing".

Your attitude over their use seems quite strange, and a tad uninformed.
 
Bennie-Mac said:
My local Tesco has this policy in effect, any employee who uses E-Cigs has to vape in the smokers area, they cant even go to their cars and vape because its a covered car park and classed as an internal space.
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This is fairly understandable though, given most workers at Tesco will be customer facing to some degree, it's not so much about it being smoking related as not walking around in view of customers doing it. I would imagine they're similarly prevented from wandering the aisles eating lunch or necking a can of Red Bull and told to use the canteen instead.

Somewhat different in jobs and environments where you're not customer facing though, the appearances aspect loses any significant justification.
 
Pestilence said:
Their workplace, their rules. They'll go ahead with it regardless of what you say.

The best thing you can do right now is arrange for a special vaping area to be constructed, away from the current smokers' huddle, within which you can spend your breaks. They have a duty of care towards you at the workplace, and sending you out to forcibly partake in second-hand smoke goes against that. Basically, just be as big a pain in their butts (reasonably, of course) as you can with it.
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Sadly, this was as far as I got with my workplace. I now get to vape in the bike shelter by the door instead of treking to the edge of the grounds to stand in the wind with the smokers. At my job we all work through our breaks, so all they did was force me to take breaks when I could be selling ads and making them money.
 
mattyg said:
Can you imagine walking up to the butchers counter at Morrisons and the butcher is stood there vaping on a E-Cig whilst cutting your steak..

No thanks
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I like how you used the most extreme customer facing role for your argument against e-cigs (Food, hygiene etc), well done. However, you are right. When dealing with food or any customer in a store, they would not be acceptable.

But in offices and places like that I don't see what the problem would be. But, it is up the the employer like others have said.
 
mattyg said:
Can you imagine walking up to the butchers counter at Morrisons and the butcher is stood there vaping on a E-Cig whilst cutting your steak..

No thanks
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Only I don't work in Morrisons on the meat counter, nor do I have a customer facing role.

I have no problem with companies not wanting people in customer facing roles eating, drinking, scratching their arse or vaping at a counter. That's common sense.

I have a problem with a blanket ban that affects everyone regardless of their job type for no other reason than it looks like smoking.

I work in an office with 6 other people, none of whom have a problem with my vaping.
 
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OP said:
As a long term electronic cigarette users and member of a thriving e-cig community which keeps abreast of all the political, technological and scientific advances in the electronic cigarette sector, I feel the need to comment on this.
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This is astonishingly funny.
 
Maybe they are fed up of the awful smell that lingers around with e-cigs. Three people in my work place have changed to e-cigs and their offices now smell stale and disgusting, could just be the brand they use tough.
 
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