{"id":9238,"date":"2016-12-15T09:00:20","date_gmt":"2016-12-15T15:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/?p=9238"},"modified":"2023-11-14T21:16:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T03:16:00","slug":"vaping-smoking-allowed-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/material-handling\/vaping-smoking-allowed-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaping May Be the New Smoking, But Should It Be Allowed at Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons – Photo taken by Lindsay Fox at ecigarettereviewed.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In case you haven’t heard, cigarette smoking is out and vaping is in — at least among young people.<\/p>\n

But the rise in popularity of e-cigarettes and vaping pens has raised new concerns about workplace smoking that most businesses though had already been resolved.<\/p>\n

Indoor smoking is now banned in nearly every state, thanks to concerns about the dangers of second-hand smoke. But many local legislative bodies are struggling to catch up with this new technology, which releases supposedly harmless steam instead of smoke into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

That leaves individual workplaces to make decisions about whether or not to allow vaping in the workplace.<\/p>\n

Popularity of Vaping<\/strong><\/p>\n

The good news is that cigarette smoking is down among nearly every demographic and age group in the US. People finally seem to be getting the message that smoking kills.<\/p>\n

The bad news, however, is that vaping is hugely popular among teens and young adults. And while some of the negative health effects of smoking are avoided, it still delivers a whopping dose of the highly addictive drug nicotine directly to the bloodstream. The long-term effects of vaping are still being studied by the US Food and Drug Administration.<\/p>\n

To Vape or Not to Vape<\/strong><\/p>\n

So should businesses that already have banned smoking on their premises allow workers, customers, and others to use vape pens? It depends on who you ask.<\/p>\n

Right now, Wal-mart, CVS Caremark, Starbucks, and many other high-profile companies have banned employees from vaping at work. But others — most notably ExxonMobile and McDonald’s — allow employees and customers to use vaping devices on their properties.<\/p>\n

How to Decide<\/strong><\/p>\n

If your business hasn’t already determined a vaping policy, here are some things to consider:<\/p>\n