Pros and Cons of Vaping while doing PC work
Since smoking has been forbidden in most companies worldwide, vaping has become the only solution for passionate smokers. Although it’s not proven to be harmless nor accepted by the experts as such, at the moment, it seems like a healthier solution than traditional smoking. However, employers and non-smoking employees are generally not happy with it, at the workplace, because of the vaping exposure. Due to the negative perception, some companies changed their policy and banned workplace vaping. Starting from 11th November 2020, smoke-free areas in New Zealand have become vape-free as well. This means that e-cigarettes, vape mod, tanks, or any other vaping device cannot be used in workplaces, including restaurants and bars, in this country.
How harmful is vaping
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaping can be beneficial for some and harmful for others. For example, adult smokers who completely replace traditional cigarettes with e-cigarettes can use vaping as a positive step toward quitting smoking. However, science needs more than a few studies to prove how effective vaping is in these cases. On the other hand, vaping can be harmful during pregnancy for children and non-smoking adults. Unfortunately, based on some statements made by the American Lung Association, there is a possibility that vaping may cause some risks. Although not a pleasant subject, it’s something to think about before using your favorite best box mod for an evening vaping session. More research is needed to determine if vaping can be a safe replacement for traditional smoking and if it’s less harmful to people’s health.
Workplace vaping policies
More than a dozen US states banned smoking and vaping and decided to treat them both equally in the sense of official state policy. In other states, vaping is prohibited in some specific places, usually facilities for minors, schools, government and municipality buildings, and some workspaces. Since 2019, more than 33% of the population, aged 15 to 34, has tried vaping. Over 3.2% of adults use vaping equipment, while 12.9% of former smokers were e-cigarette users. Whether we talk about disposable e-cigarettes or the best vape mods, the popularity of vaping has risen substantially within the last few years. Although employers are free to follow their preferences in many US states and create their vaping workplace policy, it’s highly advisable to consider the local and state regulations. The best vaping policy is the one that has clear instructions in the sense of the list of vaping devices, products, and areas where it’s allowed to be used. In some cases, where the state still doesn’t have directives for vaping in the workplace, employers should take a few points into considerations: wishes and needs of those who don’t vape, worker union’s opinion, and future goals for a safe and healthy working environment. Since this is an important matter for some employees, any information about policy changes should be issued before it takes effect. Ideally, 60-90 days prior is a good notice period if the state does not have specific rules to treat this subject.
IT professionals and vaping – Pros and Cons
People who work in computer programming and IT branches, in general, usually can work for many hours and on several things simultaneously. Besides that, they have to remain motivated, with high and positive energy, and hyper-focused on the same project for weeks or even months. For many people whose work is specific and PC and tech-oriented, smoking and vaping can often be the most practiced way to relax or to take a break from very demanding brain working. It’s not a secret that coding specialists are often extremely heavy smokers. In general, for people who work on PC’s, these are the positive sides of vaping at the workplace:
Vaping at the workstation reduces the number of breaks and their duration. Supporting the use of high-quality e-cigarettes or some of the best mods available on the market can inspire heavy smokers to consider stopping smoking and start vaping. Since smoking is banned everywhere, vaping at work can be a helpful stage toward quitting for active tobacco smokers. For highly demanding jobs, as most of them in the IT industry are, supporting workers to use their breaks for vaping and relaxation can be a way to boost their productivity and creativity while lessening their addiction to cigarettes and nicotine in general.
These are some negative sides of workplace vaping:
When entering the working space, vaping can create a negative first impression for buyers or clients, especially for those who are not pro-vaping. In some cases, the smell and the vapor mist produced by the vaping devices can easily be confused with odor and smoke from traditional smoking. If air conditions are not good in the working areas, vaping can also impact air quality. In small places, the use of vaping devices can cause discomfort and symptoms such as headache or nausea for other employees who are non-vapers or have some health issues. Since it’s still not scientifically proven to be completely harmless, vaping can be a potential health risk, especially for some groups of employees, such as those with respiratory problems and pregnant women.
To vape or not to vape at the workplace
It seems that designated vaping areas with air purifiers can be an answer to this question. Among other reasons, creating these areas will protect non-vaping workers from exposure to vapor, odor, or some potentially harmful substances. Also, it’s a protection from potential vaping equipment explosions and injuries to employees. The US hospital emergency department reports over 1000 cases of injuries from vaping device explosions every year. For this reason, it is highly recommended to carefully pick the vaping equipment, even if they are advertised as the best box mods or e-cigarettes on the market.
About the author
Emily Matthews is a journalist collecting interesting information about vaping. Her mission is to make e-cigarettes less intimidating for people with informative articles. Talk about the objective side of electronic cigarettes.
