Since the smoking ban was introduced in 2007, smoking in virtually all workplaces, on public transport and in public places such as bars, restaurants and cafes is prohibited. However, the legislation governing this ban is only concerned with smoking tobacco e.g. cigarettes, cigars and pipes and does not cover the use of the e-cigarette.
How to spot an e-cigarette:
• Some do not emit vapour and have no glowing tip, such as “smokeless cigarettes”.
• Some look like cigarettes, contain nicotine, have a glowing red tip and emit vapour.
• Some are available with nicotine and nicotine-free re-fills.
• Not all are designed to look like cigarettes.
With this variety available, and their increasing popularity with smokers trying to quit the habit, you need to decide how you will manage this within your business.
Remember, it is still an offence for traditional smoking to take place in your premises and your policy must extend to staff as well as customers to ensure that they too are sticking to the rules.
When formulating your policy you need to be clear on what you are trying to achieve and be precise on what you are prohibiting – cigarettes, cigars and pipes; e-cigarettes or both.
By creating a policy which removes shades of grey from your approach you should be able to simply and effectively manage the use of e-cigarettes within your business.
Please contact Food Alert on 020 7244 1900 or e-mail enquiries@foodalert.com if you have any enquiries about this topic.