Did you recently got hooked on vaping? Well, if you did, as with any new habit, it's essential to keep your eyes out for potential challenges. As you’ll soon find out, when it comes to vaping, there’s no telling when the craving will strike. It may strike in the dead of night, while in your early-morning workouts, or even at your workplace. One thing is for sure, though; you’ll have to satisfy the craving regardless of the time or place it strikes.Although there has been a positive trend towards the legalization of vaping, various companies still impose punitive anti-vaping measures. You simply can’t fish out your e-cig and light it at will. At least not before you’ve established your company’s vaping policies. So, just how vape-friendly is your workplace? That question shall be the focus of this post.
Understanding the Vaping Laws in Your Area
The easiest way to tell whether your workplace is vape-friendly or not is to check the vaping laws in your jurisdiction. If your company is located within a state or country where vaping is outlawed, it’s only natural that you won’t be able to vape at your workplace. Vaping laws generally seek to regulate the use of e-cigs and vape juices. So, when trying to establish the legal status of vaping within your jurisdiction, check the regulations on the possession and use of weed vaporizers and THC Vape juice. As you shall find, certain countries and states impose a total ban on vaporizers and their attachments. If you happen to be working in such jurisdictions, it technically means that you’re prohibited from vaping, be it at the workplace or anywhere else. Other countries focus on regulating the composition of a vape liquid. Now, many e-juices contain nicotine as their primary ingredient. Although nicotine is generally non-toxic, its addictive nature is the reason behind the ban on nicotine-containing e-liquids. Again if your company operates from a jurisdiction where nicotine consumption is outlawed, you won’t be able to vape nicotine-based e-liquids at your workplace or elsewhere. However, there’s a bit of leeway here, as you can find many nicotine-free e-juices today on the market.
Understanding the Vaping Policies at Your Workplace
Understanding your company’s vaping policies is also instrumental in establishing the vape-friendliness of your workplace. Even if you’re working in a state or country where vaping is completely legal, your ability to vape in the office largely comes down to your company’s policies. As vaping is still an evolving concept, many companies are yet to draft policies that expressly allow or prohibit vaping within their premises. This may make it a bit difficult to know whether you can vape freely at your workplace or not.That notwithstanding, it’s dangerous to be presumptuous. Remember that as a vaper, the onus is always on you to peruse all your company’s policies, especially regarding public health and environmental preservation. Even if these policies appear to be silent on vaping, it’s prudent to inquire from the top management before vaping. The following are other aspects that will help you to determine the vape-friendliness of your workplace.
- Nature of the Company
Naturally, you’ll expect the vaping policies to be spelled-out in companies that lean towards, say, public health. Many companies in the public health industry are wary of exposing their workforce and clients to vaping's real or perceived dangers. The same applies to companies that deal with environmental conservation. Employees of such companies should advance the company’s core mission of environmental sustainability, and they just can’t be seen blowing clouds of vapor all over the place. Remember that while vaping doesn’t produce combustion, the vapor produced still has a way of contributing to environmental degradation.
- Your Company’s Policy on Tobacco Use
When it’s not apparent whether your company allows or prohibits vaping, check the company’s policies on tobacco use. No Smoking signs are commonplace in many offices today. Although not always the case, many companies that ban tobacco use within their premises also tend to prohibit vaping. Remember that the common denominator here is nicotine. So, if you can't consume nicotine through other delivery systems, you shouldn't vape it either. But as a seasoned vaper, you should always try to explore further possibilities. For instance, get in touch with the concerned departments and ask them whether you can vape nicotine-free e-juices instead.
- The Culture of Mindless Tobacco Use Among Your Coworkers
So far, the discussion has been mostly on regulations. But some companies operate on very permissive policies, which means that employees can have their way with just about anything. We already indicated that companies that allow other nicotine delivery systems within their precincts are also generally vape-friendly. But imagine a situation where there are free tobacco consumption zones in your workplace at every turn. If your primary reason behind vaping was to break free from potentially harmful nicotine delivery systems, exposure to many cues could be counterproductive to your goals. Ideally, your workplace would be deemed vape-friendly if there are designated zones where you can vape as well as consume nicotine through other delivery systems. These zones should be distinct from one another. There goes our definitive guide on how to tell whether your workplace is vape-friendly or not. Essentially, the vape-friendliness of a workplace depends on the local vaping laws and the company’s policies on vaping and nicotine consumption.