As a non-smoker and having grown accustomed to the implications of the smoking ban, it felt strange to see smoking areas at Sharm El Sheikh Airport on my last trip to Egypt. Although this is a thing of the past in the UK, Heathrow airport have recently introduced ‘vaping’ areas, where travellers may use electronic cigarettes in sections of the airport.
These e-cigarettes are considered as a more socially acceptable alternative to traditional tobacco based cigarettes as they do not produce smoke. While the British Medical Council still advises that e-cigarettes should be included in the ban on smoking in public places, other airports will no doubt be watching how well the ‘vaping zones’ are received by smokers and non-smokers alike, looking to follow suit.
Heathrow’s website states that “electronic cigarettes are subject to the same restrictions as standard cigarettes and therefore cannot be used inside terminal buildings, except in the designated e-cigarette lounge in Terminal 4. They can be carried on your person, but please check with your airline on whether they are allowed on board the aircraft.”
So what do you think? Should e-cigarettes be allowed inside airports, or is it a step in the wrong direction towards normalising smoking?
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