| E-Smoking At Your Desk? Could It Be An Option In the Foreseeable Future? |
| Articles - Lifestyle |
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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.
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. Most smokers no longer complain when they are required to leave the building to smoke. They often find the need to defend themselves against non-smokers who complain even when workers are smoking out of doors. This has led businesses to establish outdoor smoking areas with seating and protection from the sun. These areas are often a feature of businesses with sufficient outdoor space to permit separating the smoking area from the business entrance. 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. 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. 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. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Mary Kay Rivers has become a true expert in the field of electronic cigarettes. Her publications about what would happen, if all smokers switched to electronic cigarettes or about the best electronic cigarettes are very famous. |