by Alan Campbell, Featured Contributor
IT IS HAPPENING over the world, the e-cigarette controversy. I predicted that this would bring on the fight of the century. People are complaining because the e- cigarettes are being allowed in certain places. Los Angeles, Chicago have passed laws prohibiting the use of e-cigarettes. In a crowed bar with several patrons smoking an e-cigarette and a regular patron decides to light up a regular cigarette, who is the enforcer? You see where this is going to lead don’t you?
In the hotel industry the same fight is going to take place with your customers. I read where some hotels allow the guest to smoke in the room, because there is no odor. When you get a report from housekeeping that some guest lite a cigarette, and made a report to the manager. What will happen when that guest tells you that he had an e-cigarette not a regular one, and then produces a package of Blu cigarettes? You know that the room smells of regular cigarettes, yet you want to be fair, well chances are you will let the indiscretion go this time.
These occurrences are going to become more and more frequent. Get your smoking policy in place and in plain sight of customers checking in to your establishment? This situation is not going to go away people, be prepared to defend your position, like it or not.
I know there are managers out there who disagree with the policy, because the e-cigarette is clean, and leaves no nicotine or tobacco odor. It is supposed to be water vapors only. E-cigarettes are also being used by those customers who may be trying to quit the tobacco habit. Imagine allowing this customer to smoke in a room, he will eventually smoke at least one tobacco product. Hoteliers you are on some very this ice, when it comes to this issue, There will be law suits filed on this issue, and court decisions handed down that may not be in your favor. The issue will not go away, managers, owners, policymakers get your ducks in order or they will go over the falls.
Don’t stand there when it is all over and wonder where did we go wrong?
If you went wrong because you did nothing in the beginning to establish policies to have some control over where these new e-cigarettes could be used. I have eluded in previous article that I am a nonsmoker and do not condone smoking anyplace in or around my office.
I am also currently working on the new Chesterfield Hotel, funny It has the name of a famous cigarette brand, but it will be a cigarette free hotel, the other amenities being planned for it will make up for those that have need to smoke. We the people are at fault for the smoking epidemic that has plagued us for so long. We glorified those that smoked, we showed them in movies by then big stars: Clark Gable, Garry Cooper, Marlene Dietrich and so forth. Well now we are paying for it, and trying to reverse the trend has not been easy, and now the e-cigarette is trying to glorify the habit all over again. You may disagree with the idea of the e-cigarette, but remember when smoking was cool, and the cost of trying to remove the smell from the rooms. Do as you think it alright by you or your guest: however the final payment will rest with you.
Think about it?
The increasing hysteria over e-cigarettes seems silly to me and tends to undermine the logical premise of the original argument being about the health concerns related to tobacco consumption and second-hand smoke. Now it’s abut that you LOOK like you are smoking. Can’t have that (not sure why).
Really, e-cigarettes are nothing more than a miniature nebulizer, devices widely used by asthmatics, and sufferers of COPD, emphysema and chronic bronchitis .
Just try to ban one of THOSE in your establishment, and see how fast the discrimination attorneys line up to take the case.
Personally I love a good hand-rolled cigar or a pipe with a good VaPer blend. An e-cigar or e-pipe would be entirely missing the point.
I totally support the right of hoteliers, restaurateurs, and other business operators to choose to operate a smoke-free facility. On the other hand hoteliers and other business operators who wish to cater to those who want to enjoy tobacco products in all their forms on the premises should continue to have the right to do so.