E Cigarettes at work - should they be banned?

A number of household name employers already do this but care has to be taken in any approach towards what is a relatively new product. There is the strong possibility that some of these products will eventually regulated as medicines. And a new European Directive is on the way defining these medical issues.

Many smokers use E Cigarettes as a substitute for tobacco products. They usually heat nicotine, propylene glycol and flavouring agents into a vapour which the user inhales. 

Companies marketing e-cigarettes usually give the impression that they can be used almost anywhere, including in the workplace, where traditional cigarettes are banned. E-cigarette manufacturers also promote the idea that using these products – ‘vaping’ as it is sometimes called - does not have the same harmful effects as conventional smoking.

But these claims have come under tough scrutiny. Most recently the World Health Organisation (WHO) published a report into the use, health effects and options for regulating e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems.

The WHO report acknowledged that these devices are likely to be less harmful than conventional smoking, but warned that their use may potentially increase the background air levels of nicotine and other substances which could be harmful to adolescents and pregnant women. The report also pointed out that e-cigarettes have not been subjected to many independent tests and that any impact on health arising from their use may not become obvious for some years.  

The WHO report has therefore recommended a legal ban on the indoor use of e-cigarettes and other such devices. This is of importance to employers, as there is no clear evidence yet that exhaled vapour from e-cigarettes is not harmful to bystanders and does not undermine the enforcement of a smoke-free policy.

However, some health experts have described the report as "alarmist", and argued that any regulations must be proportionate. For example, experts criticised the WHO report for giving the impression that use of e-cigarettes made it harder to give up smoking. In their view, the opposite is the case.

The UK government will be required to transpose a European tobacco products directive into national law by May 2016. Under these new rules, some e-cigarettes (which may include those with strengths over 20mg/ml) will be regarded as ‘medicinal products’. Those that fall outside this definition will be subject to a number of regulatory controls.


Employers that impose a wholesale ban on using nicotine devices in the workplace may face complaints in the future from staff who have been prescribed them as medicine and must, therefore, be prepared to explain the reasoning behind the ban. It may also be helpful to suggest that employees discuss alternative aids to giving up smoking with their GP and to draw their attention to support offered inside or outside the workplace.

Experts say employers should now consider taking the following steps. They should:

• Review and amend existing smoking or substance abuse policies or consider introducing a new policy to deal with smoking, including use of e-cigarettes and other such electronic devices. Employers need to be clear on their policy on the use of e-cigarettes before taking action against employees for misuse of these products.
• Offer users of e-cigarettes a ‘vaping’ area that is separate from the one designated for conventional smoking if the organisation is imposing a wholesale ban on the use of e-cigarettes in the workplace. This will help to avoid undue damage to e-cigarette users’ health from harmful substances produced by conventional smoking.
• Be vigilant over the discreet use of electronic tobacco-delivering devices in contravention of policies, and take disciplinary action if appropriate. Not all these devices look like traditional cigarettes: some have been developed in the form of pens or memory sticks.
• Address any criticisms of the e-cigarette prohibition policy by promoting external services to help employees stop smoking or by offering similar in-house support. 

#hr #management #business #ukemplaw #teaching #humanresource #humanresources #ceo #leadership #uklaw