Irish Smoking Ban

NeutralMilk

Can anyone tell me if the smoking ban in a workplace is limited to tobacco?
Could have sworn I saw the law quoted on a sign before and it made the specification.

Thanks.

Peregrinus

"The smoking of tobacco products in [a place of work] is prohibited." - Tobacco Smoking (Prohibition) Regulations 2003, reg. 2.

What else were you thinking of smoking? While these regulations are confined to tobacco, you'd need to consider whether smoking something else might contravene other legislation, or might simply be disallowed by the person who controls the premises.

Tom Young

It also covers snuff and chewing tobacco which is technically not smoked. That might answer or address the source of your query.

Peregrinus

Yes. "Smoking" a tobacco produce is defined in the principal legislation (the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002) to include sniffing, chewing and sucking.

And "tobacco product" is defined broadly as well. It includes cigarette papers, tubes and fulters manufactured for use in the smoking of tobacco. So if you roll your own, and they don't contain tobacco, the fact that you use cigarette papers or tubes means that what you have rolled is still a "tobacco product", and "smoking" it is prohbited in the workplace.

If you smoke something which is - ahem - not tobacco, using an appliance not designed for smoking tobacco, then you are not "smoking a tobacco product" (though, of course, you might fall foul of other legislation). My first thought was a bong, but any that I have seen for sale have all been labelled "for use with tobacco only" or something similar, which in this context might prove awkward.

BrianD

The Aussies have it well covered on public transport notices:

"Smoking of any substance is prohibited"

NeutralMilk

Thanks.

Link to this definition of "tobacco products"?

Also, I'm assuming vapourization is not mentioned anywhere and is therefore completely legal. Would this be correct?

Peregrinus

NeutralMilk wrote: »

Link to this definition of "tobacco products"?

Here you go: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2002/en/act/pub/0006/sec0002.html#sec2

NeutralMilk wrote: »

Also, I'm assuming vapourization is not mentioned anywhere and is therefore completely legal. Would this be correct?

What are you going to do with the vapour? I think if you ingest it orally or nasally that would be "smoking", as defined in the section just linked.

FreudianSlippers

Interestingly (and slightly off topic perhaps) I have been on planes where people have been using vaporising "cigarettes" and was slightly interested in them being allowed.