Devices & Diagnostics

Camel employees can’t light up at work

If you’re a smoker who works for Reynolds American, Inc., the maker of Camel cigarettes, […]

If you’re a smoker who works for Reynolds American, Inc., the maker of Camel cigarettes, you can head right over there to your private indoor area because you’re no longer welcome to smoke in the corporate office.

“We’re well aware that there will be folks who see this as an irony, but we believe it’s the right thing to do and the right time to do it,” David Howard, a Reynolds spokesman, said in an interview.

The company is beginning to acknowledge that its products are harmful enough to provide hazards to non-smoking employees and visitors. And it makes sense to reevaluate after the $206 billion settlement with 46 states in 1998. Even the Reynolds CEO Susan Cameron has decided to quit. Well, at least switched to vaping (e-cigarettes are permitted in the office). Many are making the switch, and companies like IntelliQuit are doing their part to make the process less painful by including a game component to the effort.

Many are speaking up about making e-cigarettes an acceptable alternative legally because the rules aren’t exactly clear at this point. Cameron and Lorillard Inc.CEO Murray Kessler spoke about it at a tobacco conference earlier this month.

That said, The U.S. e-cig market is worth about $3 billion, less than 5 percent of the tobacco industry’s total. So, Camel won’t quit its day job.

Howard has said that the new ban at Reynolds’ corporate offices will go into place in January and phase in until 2016 as the facilities are built.

[Camel cigarettes photo from flickr user arbyreed]

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