Puffing E-cigger in the office- is it harmful?

[Frenchfancies]

There's someone at work who sits opposite me and puffs away on one of these E- cigarettes, I can smell it sometimes, does anyone know if its harmful? I'm totally clueless, 5wks and worried about everything at the moment! Thank you in advance!

I would like to know the answer to this too. My mate starting puffing one in my house the other night. It does omit some sort of vapour and I was a bit taken aback that she just got it out and started smoking it in my non-smoking house! I guess they mustn't be harmful but I couldn't help wondering.....!

Yes, it is harmful. There was a report recently that they produce three times as much formaldehyde as normal cigarettes and the WHO has advised no smoking areas apply to these also.

Hi yummymango, oh no poor you, does your friend know your PG? I definitely wouldn't like that, pregnant or not to be honest!

Its always bothered me a bit, but not really had any reason to say anything before but i can always smell the vapoury smoke!

Is it an ecig or a vape though?

If its a vape its just water vapour going into the air and flavourings.

The problem is that nobody knows for sure whether they are safe or not. Some research says harmless others say not. Funnily enough the big tobacco companies are saying it's all totally safe! However, it has been recognised that even the 'vape' has chemicals in it, it's not just water as most people think. WHO says they should be treated as cigarettes and not allowed in public places.

No, there's virtually no passive vaping risk].

I don't allow them in my house as we are a non smoking house ... and I expect visitors to adhere to that ... I provide a smoking area outside and whether you smoke or vase you go out there and do it ?

oh had one until it broke. hes now smoking again (outside) until he can get another one. i can smell the nicotine off the ecig and it stinks altho not as bad as propper fags. midwife has told oh not to vape around me or around baby when he is born

Ok thank you everyone. Even if it's not proved harmful I still don't think it should be done in a closed space, PG or not...

Now I have the task of being tactful and them not guessing why and telling everyone else in the office!

Hi Op when I went for my booking app the midwife checked my carbon monoxide level as a non smoker it was 2 , out of intrest my partner who smokes an e cig had his checked and suprisingly his levels was only 3 ! So maybe they're not that bad .... However I still dont think he should be puffing away in the office !

The Formaldehyde was from cheap Chinese imports/fakes. British made products and liquids will not be producing any harmful toxins.

I don't know. There is also a puffer in my office and I can tell you that sometimes it gives me a coughing fit. But that could be the flavourings / vapour and my sensitive chest. Can you phone the NHS for advice.

Studies have shown decreases in air quality when these devices are used. The majority of workplaces count them in with cigarettes and won't allow them to be used indoors. Personally, I wouldn't want them used near me even if I wasn't pregnant, as we simply don't know what's being emitted from them, but current studies aren't very reassuring.

Basically, we don't know what's in them, never mind what's emitted, and we don't know what harm they might be causing. I would ask that the guy uses it outside tbh.

www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/studies-reveal-health-risks-e-cigarettes formaldehyde formation is nothing to do with brand, it's to do with the chemicals found in the device.

Please don't worry OP, where and when to vape is a matter of etiquette, not health. They've found no evidence of harm to people who actually vape, let alone bystanders. See here for a good, evidence-based FAQ on ecigs. If you are unhappy about someone vaping in the workplace please do speak to your employer. ASH have produced a useful guide here to help employers decide on their vaping policy. It's not appropriate in all situations, just like eating and drinking are not appropriate in all situations.

WRT the formaldehyde studies (there have been a couple recently) - what the researchers did in both cases was to heat an atomiser to such a degree that nobody would be able to vape off it in real life. At normal operating temperatures, no formaldehyde was detected.

What the authors ignore is that these conditions, commonly called dry-puff phenomenon (which is explained in detail in one of my published studies), are easily detected by the vapers. In fact, overheating results in an unpleasant taste that none can withstand. As a result, no vaper is ever using the e-cigarette at such conditions and, thus, will never be exposed to such levels of formaldehyde. The story published in New England Journal of Medicine is similar to finding carcinogens in an overcooked piece of meat that none can ever eat. Of course the findings are true, but none will be exposed to the levels found. - from here

blackwidow74 - I don't allow them in my house as we are a non smoking house
I do allow them in my house as we are a non smoking house and vaping isn't smoking - nothing is burnt and there is no smoke, just a kind of steam, similar to what comes out of fogging machines used in theatre and at gigs. It's entirely up to you what you allow in your own home, however if you send vapers to stand with smokers you could very well be jeopardising their quit attempt (as well as, of course, subjecting them to second hand smoke when they no longer smoke themselves).

theonewiththenoisychild - i can smell the nicotine off the ecig
No you can't. Nicotine has no smell and very little taste. What you can smell is the flavourings. These are the exact same flavourings that are used in the food industry.

My workplace has just produced a policy on this and treat them like normal cigarettes, ie you have to go outside, specifically mentioning pregnant women as people to protect. Basically they say we don't know if they're harmful yet, so to be safe they regard them as they would any cigarette, and pregnant women shouldn't have to take the risk. I would speak to HR, not necessarily saying you're pregnant but asking if you have a policy yet.

I apologise, Plenty has it . It wasn't Formaldehyde in the cheap Chinese fakes, it was other chemicals. I managed to confuse myself with all the conflicting info.

At 5 weeks you may not be out of the closet as it were but when you are don't forget that all sorts of things could "set off your morning sickness". I managed to stop my colleagues drinking disgusting smelling energy drinks etc in the office on this basis :)

I'd be so annoyed sitting across from a colleague who did this I just hate smoking in general tho hate it when I'm walking down the street & someone is smoking ahead of me! I don't get where the pleasure in smoking is at least some alcoholic drinks taste nice Sorry just ranting

There's virtually no health risk unless he's blowing huge clouds of vapour directly into your face all day long, and even that would only be dangerous to the sort of degree that drinking coffee is. Really, it is perfectly safe. It's generally considered rude to use them in an office, though - they produce smells. If you're bothered by the smell, you'd be well within your rights to ask him not to use it indoors.

plentyof i say i can smell the nicotine because it smells like my hands used to smell after i had been smoking so as the stuff my oh puts in contains 18mg of nicotine i thought it was probably what the smell is. my oh doesnt just vape flavours his ecig does use nicotine

The way your hands used to smell after smoking is the smell of smoke, burnt plant matter and stale tar, none of which are present in an ecig. I have never smelt anything remotely like that on someone who vapes. Even the tobacco flavoured liquid doesn't smell much like fags, if it's a good one it might smell vaguely like fresh unlit tobacco but nothing like smoking. Smell is a highly subjective thing though and we all have smells we don't like. Could you persuade your oh to change flavours? Cinnamon apple or vanilla maybe?