Some bars ban e cigarettes, while others have no explicit rules or simply allow people to discreetly puff away.
Managers at two downtown pubs, O’Shea’s and The Rook and Raven, said the devices are banned.
At another pub, the Bell and Whistle, manager Kris Bates said the rare occasion someone is using an e cigarette hasn’t been a problem.
He won’t kick someone out of the bar for using one, but he’d rather not have to deal with it in the first place, he said.
“I’d rather pick my battles with something enforced with a law behind it, like over serving or fighting.”
The Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce and the Saskatchewan Hotels and Hospitality Association haven’t fielded any queries from their members about how to handle ecigarettes in the workplace, restaurants or other businesses. “We haven’t had any pushback to suggest it’s an emerging issue. That’s not to say it won’t be,” said the chamber’s executive director, Kent Smith Windsor.
The hotel and hospitality association does have a legal opinion stating hotels have the right to ban guests from using e cigarettes.
“I think for now they should be treated like cigarettes and comply with provincial and city bylaws,” CEO and president Tom Mullin said in an interview.
“It’s a tough one because, for example, does it infringe on a person’s right to clean air? That’s debatable.”
I don’t puff on the bus. I won’t at a restaurant. Generally, it’s best to follow this rule when in public spaces Where it would be rude to smoke a cigarette, keep the electronic version sheathed.
Does it work? After seven days, I can count on two hands the number of cigarettes I’ve smoked, rather than the number of packs.
If the goal is harm reduction, like a portable, battery charged safe injection site, then e cigarettes could help. You might not quit completely right away maybe not ever but cutting your habit by 20 or so cigarettes a day is a vast improvement.
I don’t feel healthier, but it’s only been a week. Friends and colleagues use e cigarettes regularly and have cut down or completely quit.
My bank account is plumper than usual. My mother is happy I’m trying to quit. Those are good things. Puffing on an e cigarette looks like someone taking hauls off a big pen. Gawking will happen.
It doesn’t feel like beating an addiction, especially when nicotine is still in the mix, but it isn’t all smoke and mirrors. If the research backs up claims made by e cigarette advocates, vapour rancour may eventually be a thing of the past.
The best solution to all of this is obvious, of course Don’t start smoking in the first place.
jjwarren