1. Blog posts
Here are some of the seminal blog posts on vaping in public and other shared spaces:
Dick Puddlecote Signage And The Anti-Vaping Status Quo
Facts do Matter Let's Talk About Bans
Clive Bates Vaping bans - asking the wrong question
The random vaper Smoking bans, public opinion, social norms and vaping etiquette
Velvet glove iron fist Public Health England and vaping bans
Vapers in Power (political party) Open letter to Pembrokeshire County Council
ECITA (trade associaton): An open letter to UK train operators
2. Public Health England advice
Public Health England emphasises the importance of making a distinction between smoking and vaping. Here are the headings for the 5 points:
E-cigarettes in public places and workplaces: a 5-point guide to policy making
1. Make a clear distinction between vaping and smoking
2. Ensure policies are based on evidence of harm to bystanders
3. Identify and manage risks of uptake by children and young people
4. Support smokers to stop smoking and stay smokefree
5. Support compliance with smokefree law and policies
The guidance is here:
E-cigarettes in public places and workplaces: a 5-point guide to policy making
Advice to policy makers is here:
Use of e-cigarettes in public places and workplaces Advice to inform evidence-based policy makingAdvice to inform evidence-based policy making
The report on the consultation is here:
Report of PHE stakeholder ‘conversation’ on use of e-cigarettes in enclosed public places and workplaces
3. Hertfordshire County Council e-cigarettes policy
In November 2016 Hertfordshire County Council adopted a groundbreaking policy on e-cigarette use, following PHE’s principles and recognising the significant health benefits that can be gained through e-cigarettes. Jim McManus and Kevin Fenton explain the reasoning behind it in this blog post,here.
Herts County Council also produced a very informative and useful policy statement “for policy makers who need to consider whether or not to permit the use of electronic cigarettes in workplaces, enclosed public places and external public areas.” You can read that here.
Appendix 3 of the policy statement suggests potential approaches for different organisations and settings, see here: Herts CC policy statement appendix 3
The report on the policy statement is here.
4. ASH Will you permit or prohibit e-cigarette use on your premises?
“While there have been a number of studies looking at the potential for harm to bystanders from secondhand vapour we have been unable to find any published scientific evidence that identifies harm from indirect exposure to electronic cigarettes.”
ASH briefing, Will you permit or prohibit e-cigarette use on your premises?
ASH and the CIEH co produced a briefing, back in October 2015, for employers considering allowing vaping in their workplaces. This suggests employers consider these 5 points:
1. What are the issues you trying to deal with?
2. What do you think you need to control?
3. Do you have concerns about the possibility of harm from electronic cigarettes?
4. Will restricting or prohibiting use of electronic cigarettes support compliance with
smokefree policies?
5. Do you want your policy to help to improve people’s health?
The briefing is linked to from here. Please note though that this briefing is now two years old and some of it is out of date: e.g there’s no licensed product.
5. Health and Safety Executive advice on electronic cigarettes
The advice is very brief and is placed (unfortunately) on HSE’s “Advice on smoking at work” page. HSE advises that the “employer needs to consider e-cigarettes in the wider context of risk in the workplace” and suggests employers contact Public Health England for advice.
6. The Freedom to Vape campaign
In November 2017 the Freedom to Vape campaign published its second annual report on local councils' policies on staff using e-cigarettes. You can read the report here. Andrew Allison, Head of Campaigns for The Freedom Association and the report's author, said:
"Public Health England stated earlier this year that smoke free policies should display a clear distinction between vaping and smoking, and that it is never acceptable to require vapers to share the same outdoor space with smokers. It is clear from this report that the vast majority of councils across the UK are ignoring this advice."
#NoVapingBans