One of the biggest companies in Scotland, Standard Life, prohibits electric cigarettes from the office saying it goes against their anti-smoking policies.
Standard Life is one of Britain's largest organisations, employing 9,000 individuals in Edinburgh. The banning of e-cigarettes inside the workplace potentially could form a precedent and could have a substantial impact on electric cigarette sales. This contradicts the conservatives ‘nudge unit’ that is endorsing electric cigarettes as a much more healthy replacement for smoking tobacco.
E-cigs possess similar risks as drinking coffee mainly because they have nicotine which is actually a stimulant. Electric cigarettes work by an atomizer warming up the flavoured liquid inside generally known as e juice which in turn vaporises. E-juice does not have any tobacco as such though nicotine which is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants, does have traces of tobacco in it. However this is different to the tobacco found in tobacco plants and does not contain the carcinogens that are found in tobacco cigarettes.
As they do not contain the carcinogens that cigarettes contain, electric cigarettes are far healthier than tobacco cigarettes. E cigarettes do on the other hand contain nicotine, the habit forming drug contained in tobacco cigarettes. This is a stimulant however making e-cigs no more harmful than coffee.
However, Standard Life has been a non-smoking company for many years and feels that allowing electric cigarettes would contradict this and they even provide an occupational health division that assists staff to give up smoking cigarettes.
Electric cigarettes are incredibly popular with numerous celebrities including Kate Moss and Britney Spears. E-cigarettes are rapidly replacing the tobacco equivalent with one manufacturer alone boasting over twenty thousand sales in Scotland alone. Much of this is because of the health benefits although the cost is a huge factor with an electronic cigarette working out significantly cheaper.
Electric cigarettes are available online plus they are beginning to be stocked in chemists and even food markets. With time, they will be readily available the same as cigarettes are today. The majority of people start with a disposable e cigarette before getting a standard rechargeable electronic cigarette.
Despite Standard Life banning electric cigarettes, many of Scotland’s largest organisations permit them such as Lloyd’s Banking Group, who own Scottish Widows and HBOS. Despite the fact that Lloyd's also has strict no smoking policies, this doesn't include electric cigarettes. Glasgow City Council also allow electric cigarettes.
Professor John Britton thinks e-cigs have the potential to save millions of lives around the world and also encourages their introduction. In fact the government “nudge unit” supports ecigs since they believe that electric cigarettes may potentially save thousands of lives as they are a healthier alternative.
E-cigs have the possibility to save millions of lives if cigarette smokers switched. This is basically the concept of the ‘nudge unit’ set up by the Conservative party and the banning of them at financial firm, Standard Life, may potentially harm this because it could set a precedent.
Electric cigarettes in many cases are thought to be bad because they are still smoked and firms wish to disassociate themselves with smoking. Electronic cigarettes however are a more healthy alternative to cigarettes and many lives could be saved if tobacco users switched to electric cigarettes rather than smoking cigarettes.
