Or should "vapers" be included in an employer's policy-wide ban from smoking in the workplace, even though their use is not directly covered by the legislation applying to normal smokers? This may come across as being unsupportive of those who are using e-cigs as a means of giving up smoking. If the use of e-cigarettes is not unlawful at work, should those employees that use them be treated in the same way as normal smokers and be directed to the designated smoking areas? Users of e-cigarettes could argue that, as they are not actually smoking, they have a right to be provided with a smoke-free environment and should not be put with tobacco smokers (although they could be designated their own smoking areas). They do not give off smoke and are also reportedly not harmful to others. Unlike tobacco products, however, e-cigarettes are battery powered devices that vaporise a nicotine solution to replicate smoking without the use of tobacco and they are not likely to be covered by the Health Act. The ban includes manufactured and hand-rolled cigarettes, pipes and cigars. Normal smoking in enclosed or substantially enclosed public places, including the workplace, is banned under the Health Act 2006 and associated regulations. The council wants to ban e-cigs in all of its premises and vehicles. Cheshire East Council is worried about "the use of e-cigarettes … in council offices and other locations, and this is causing concern among staff". And councils in Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle and Cheshire East seem ready to outlaw the electronic cigarette too. A few years ago, the insurer Standard Life banned the use of e-cigarettes at the desks of its 5,500 staff. Some UK employers have already taken a stand.
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