Surely this shouldn’t be allowed in an office?

[Haaaalp]

I started a new job on Monday and the man in the desk next to me is sitting here vaping. It stinks and has given me headaches.

I am not the most senior but relatively senior and I feel if I say something (he’s not as senior as me), then it looks like I’m coming in and making a fuss.

I am quite fearful of cigarette smoke and I don’t really drink much so I don’t know if I’m making a mountain out of a molehill. Nobody else seems bothered though there’s only 4 others.

it's a serious health risk for you. People develop popcorn lung from vapes. It's irreversible. You need to address this ASAP and it's not unreasonable to do so.
It's not currently illegal in the UK to vape indoors but it is prohibited in most public venues

Isn't it pretty much all.indoors places? I'm sure you can't vape in shops/pubs/buses so.I would be really surprised if this was allowed

Broch the subject with your boss by asking to move desks and say why..take it from there.

Definitely shouldn't be happening. Stick up for yourself. You at least have your seniority behind you.

I would be completely taken aback to see anyone vaping in an office. I just assumed it was covered by the same rules around smoking as I've never actually seen someone doing it. It would be as shocking in my office as someone lighting up a Marlboro.

You should ask him to please go outside or into the corridor/kitchen to vape. That is if it's definitely permitted. If it's not tell the boss.

I think it's a bit unusual for workplaces to allow this. Though I don't actually know if second hand vape is dangerous.

Diacetyl is banned in the UK.

But the OP still needs to look into the policy on indoor vaping as it really shouldn't be allowed.

I’ve no idea if officially second hand vaping is considered dangerous but as someone who has emphysema due to second hand smoke ( growing up) I can only say that vapes affect me as badly if not more so than cigarettes so on that evidence I would say it’s bad for you . ( log burners/ coal fires are also as bad a trigger for me ) . Check the company policy , if there isn’t one in place speak to your manager about implementing one and ask if there is a smoke free office that you can work in for the time being

I started a new job in 1995, only to discover that people were allowed to smoke at their desks. I asked for it to be stopped pretty much immediately. I was only young at the time and not senior at all, but felt my asthma was more important than keeping in favour by saying nothing.

Health comes first. And I actually don’t remember there being any issues when the smoking stopped with immediate effect. Perhaps they’d realised they had been lucky to get away with it for so long!

I've had the same thing and I ignored it. Walking into a weird fruity haze of someone else's second-hand air is pretty gross. You're better off saying something now, while you're new to the office. If you leave it months to say something, it'll be more difficult to raise an issue. You'll probably find that the other non-vapers in the office will thank you for it.

Let’s not scare monger shall we? It’s not a “serious health risk”. It’s a mild annoyance.

diacetyl (the possible reason for popcorn lung) is banned in uk vapes. And even if the user had a counterfeit vape the chance of developing a chronic condition from second hand water vapour is near zero

I think that they should have made that policy clear at interview stage. Just ask to be moved and reconsiderif it'sthe right fit for you.

Well, I’m very glad of where I live. They just amended our environmental legislation to state that vaping was banned in any place/situation where smoking is banned and sane restrictions apply all round. So, no way it would be allowed. Sucks you are not the same 🫤.

Do vapes/electronic cigs not come under smoking indoors legislation? You cant vape in pubs, on the bus, supermarket etc

In any civilised workplace there would be a clear policy on this, probably aligning the practice with that of smoking.

@ByShyRaven it is very serious for someone with an existing lung condition and as the OP is new to this job I’d be interested to know if this was discussed at interview as I personally , and I’m sure lots of others with similar conditions , would not be able to work in this environment. I will also point out that we have no idea how vapes will have affected people 40/50 yrs down the line , just like when people first smoked nobody had any idea that it could leave their relatives with serious lung conditions .

Do your employers own the office or is it a managed office? If it’s a managed office you could raise it with them, surely that would be a problem for insurance etc.

Yes it is - you’re inhaling nicotine and chemicals which aren’t good for you!

Cardiologists and lung specialists around the world have seen the damage vaping does!!! Just because you want to be an ostrich and pretend it doesn’t affect you or anyone else doesn’t mean it’s not harmful! Smoking cigarettes was PRESCRIBED to patients for stress, pregnancy symptoms and allsorts until they realised it was causing cancer etc

No, and one of my local pubs does allow vaping in one section.

They don't no - it was the Health Act of 2006 which banned smoking indoors and it didn't include vapes, so various bodies decide for themselves whether or not to ban them

Edited to add the current NHS advice: https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/ready-to-quit-smoking/vaping-to-quit-smoking/vaping-myths-and-the-facts/

"While secondhand smoke from cigarettes causes serious harm to others, there is no evidence so far that vaping is harmful to people around you, and any risks are likely to be very low"

That’s awful! It can’t be legal surely?! At my work there is a vaping shelter outside

Does your company have a smoking policy? I’d suggest they update it to include vapes and other e cigarettes etc as the long term effects aren’t known and it’s full of chemicals and so vile.

Personally it wouldn't bother me, and I doubt there's much solid evidence of second-hand vapour inhalation being harmful (as in, clear scientific evidence you could take to HR). But that's not the point.

The point is, it's simply unacceptable in an office environment. You also shouldn't wear a bikini to the office, or fart all the time. Nothing wrong with those things per se, just not in the office.

It would NOT fly in any office I've ever worked in - they wouldn't get away with it anywhere else.

Unfortunately, there is no legislation on the statute books around vaping yet, so you will need to address this with HR by asking where is the policy on vaping, if they do not have one when will it be written and remind them that, although there is little constructive research on second hand vaping, you would hate them to e deemed liable after you have asked them about it...