Cigarette maker Reynolds American Inc. has reached a deal to acquire a Swedish company whose nicotine gum, pouches and spray help people stop smoking, the second-largest U.S. tobacco company said Wednesday.
The acquisition will let Reynolds offer products that can "reduce the risks of diseases and death caused by tobacco use," CEO Susan M. Ivey said in a statement.
Niconovum AB's products are sold outside the U.S. under the Zonnic brand. They could help the maker of Camel cigarettes and Grizzly smokeless tobacco keep growing as tax increases, health concerns, smoking bans and social stigma cut into demand for cigarettes.
The deal, which Reynolds expects to conclude by the end of the year, would be worth about $44 million. The Associated Press reported last month that the companies were in talks.
Karl Olov Fagerstrom, an expert on smoking cessation and nicotine dependence, formed Niconovum in 2000, according to its Web site.
Reynolds, which is based in Winston-Salem, N.C., said it will fund product development and testing required for Niconovum to enter markets outside of Sweden and Denmark. It intends to keep Niconovum's headquarters in Sweden and retain its leaders.
Under the Camel brand, Reynolds has introduced moist smokeless tobacco and snus — small pouches like tea bags that users stick between the cheek and gum.
Reynolds also has introduced dissolving tobacco — finely milled tobacco shaped into orbs, sticks and strips — in test markets.
понедельник, 21 декабря 2009 г.
пятница, 18 декабря 2009 г.
'Electronic' cigarettes spark several concerns
Todd Charron began puffing on a battery-powered electronic cigarette as an alternative to his regular cigarettes and also to save a little money.
"I don't want to put a positive or negative spin on it," he said, referring to the e-cigarette, which delivers a preset dose of nicotine, but none of tobacco's tar, through a vapor mist.
"It's definitely not like smoking a cigarette, but it's not terrible," the Palm Bay resident said, describing his experience with the smokelike product during the past several months. "I'm still on the fence, though my wife, Heather, doesn't touch hers anymore."
The market for electronic cigarettes nationwide has grown rapidly, however, so much so the U.S. Food and Drug Administration joined other public health officials earlier this summer in issuing a warning about potential health risks. The federal agency said e-cigarettes lack federal regulation and have been inadequately studied for safety, so consumers have no way of knowing what, besides nicotine, may be inside them.
"Our biggest concern is the lack of safety data," said Siobhan DeLancey, a spokeswoman for FDA. "But we also have issues with how they are marketed" -- often in shopping malls and online -- and in flavors such as bubblegum, chocolate or peppermint, which might make them appealing to children or adolescents.
DeLancey said the agency's position is that electronic cigarettes, which contain cartridges filled with varying levels of nicotine from light to heavy, should be subject to regulation under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act as a drug-delivery device.
At least one electronic cigarette distributor is legally challenging that regulatory authority, along with the notion its products are smoking-cessation devices, rather than cigarette alternatives for adults, the company's claim.
"The issue is being fought out in federal court right now," DeLancey said, referring to the lawsuit.
Exactly how many manufacturers make e-cigarettes is hard to determine, but by one estimate, there probably are several hundred of them. And, after a preliminary analysis of two leading e-cigarette brands, the federal agency began halting dozens of shipments of the tobacco-free products from entering the country, a trigger behind the current litigation.E-cigarettes look like conventional cigarettes. But, because they don't have tobacco, they can be used wherever smoking is banned from offices and restaurants to bars, accounting, in part, for their popularity.
The average price tag ranges from $70 to $150 for a starter kit, which typically contains two electronic cigarettes, five to 10 replaceable cartridges of varying nicotine strength and extra batteries.
The cartridges contain the nicotine dose as well as propylene glycol, a liquid that vaporizes and produces the smokelike mist. When a user inhales and takes a puff, a sensor heats the cartridge, initiating the smoking process.
"It actually has a heavier sensation than a cigarette," said Charron, who first heard about e-cigarettes on the radio. "Have you ever breathed directly from a humidifier? It feels a bit like that. Vapor is what you're smoking."
Cheaper than regular cigarettes
Starter kits last as long as the battery and the atomizer work, according to Amy Linert, a spokeswoman and marketer for the Electronic Cigarette Association, a small group of about 15 manufacturers seeking to set national standards for the industry.
The cartridges must be replaced regularly, from "every couple of days to every couple of weeks," she said, depending on an individual's smoking habits.
Still, while the average smoker in Florida pays $5 to $6 for a pack of regular cigarettes, e-cigarettes are cheaper, she said, costing less than half that amount, or the equivalent of $2 a pack.
"This is for smokers who can't or don't want to stop smoking," Linert stressed.
Like the other manufacturers, she said, the association views electronic cigarettes as a safer alternative to regular cigarettes, not as smoking-cessation products, which often fail. The American Cancer Society estimates 440,000 people in the United States die each year from tobacco use, primarily from cancers of the lung, larynx, oral cavity, pharynx and esophagus.
Candylike flavors appeal to children
Although the association is not part of the lawsuit against the FDA, Linert said, the group recently addressed at least two of the agency's concerns and those of several medical organizations, including the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association.
Revised bylaws, for example, now prohibit members from marketing any candylike flavors in e-cigarettes, to undercut their appeal to children or adolescents.
Also, Linert said, association members do not support the sale of e-cigarettes at kiosks or malls, preferring behind-the-counter sales where the age of customers can be monitored to ensure they are not too young to buy them.
As for the FDA analysis of e-cigarette products, Linert said, it showed only one manufacturer used about a 1 percent solution of diethylene glycol, an antifreeze ingredient toxic to humans, to make the vapor that smokers ultimately expel.
Members of the association use propylene glycol in their e-cigarette products instead, she said. And while propylene glycol also is used in commercial antifreeze, "it's a substance generally considered safe by the government," she said, and also can be found in makeup and food coloring, among other uses.
"I don't want to put a positive or negative spin on it," he said, referring to the e-cigarette, which delivers a preset dose of nicotine, but none of tobacco's tar, through a vapor mist.
"It's definitely not like smoking a cigarette, but it's not terrible," the Palm Bay resident said, describing his experience with the smokelike product during the past several months. "I'm still on the fence, though my wife, Heather, doesn't touch hers anymore."
The market for electronic cigarettes nationwide has grown rapidly, however, so much so the U.S. Food and Drug Administration joined other public health officials earlier this summer in issuing a warning about potential health risks. The federal agency said e-cigarettes lack federal regulation and have been inadequately studied for safety, so consumers have no way of knowing what, besides nicotine, may be inside them.
"Our biggest concern is the lack of safety data," said Siobhan DeLancey, a spokeswoman for FDA. "But we also have issues with how they are marketed" -- often in shopping malls and online -- and in flavors such as bubblegum, chocolate or peppermint, which might make them appealing to children or adolescents.
DeLancey said the agency's position is that electronic cigarettes, which contain cartridges filled with varying levels of nicotine from light to heavy, should be subject to regulation under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act as a drug-delivery device.
At least one electronic cigarette distributor is legally challenging that regulatory authority, along with the notion its products are smoking-cessation devices, rather than cigarette alternatives for adults, the company's claim.
"The issue is being fought out in federal court right now," DeLancey said, referring to the lawsuit.
Exactly how many manufacturers make e-cigarettes is hard to determine, but by one estimate, there probably are several hundred of them. And, after a preliminary analysis of two leading e-cigarette brands, the federal agency began halting dozens of shipments of the tobacco-free products from entering the country, a trigger behind the current litigation.E-cigarettes look like conventional cigarettes. But, because they don't have tobacco, they can be used wherever smoking is banned from offices and restaurants to bars, accounting, in part, for their popularity.
The average price tag ranges from $70 to $150 for a starter kit, which typically contains two electronic cigarettes, five to 10 replaceable cartridges of varying nicotine strength and extra batteries.
The cartridges contain the nicotine dose as well as propylene glycol, a liquid that vaporizes and produces the smokelike mist. When a user inhales and takes a puff, a sensor heats the cartridge, initiating the smoking process.
"It actually has a heavier sensation than a cigarette," said Charron, who first heard about e-cigarettes on the radio. "Have you ever breathed directly from a humidifier? It feels a bit like that. Vapor is what you're smoking."
Cheaper than regular cigarettes
Starter kits last as long as the battery and the atomizer work, according to Amy Linert, a spokeswoman and marketer for the Electronic Cigarette Association, a small group of about 15 manufacturers seeking to set national standards for the industry.
The cartridges must be replaced regularly, from "every couple of days to every couple of weeks," she said, depending on an individual's smoking habits.
Still, while the average smoker in Florida pays $5 to $6 for a pack of regular cigarettes, e-cigarettes are cheaper, she said, costing less than half that amount, or the equivalent of $2 a pack.
"This is for smokers who can't or don't want to stop smoking," Linert stressed.
Like the other manufacturers, she said, the association views electronic cigarettes as a safer alternative to regular cigarettes, not as smoking-cessation products, which often fail. The American Cancer Society estimates 440,000 people in the United States die each year from tobacco use, primarily from cancers of the lung, larynx, oral cavity, pharynx and esophagus.
Candylike flavors appeal to children
Although the association is not part of the lawsuit against the FDA, Linert said, the group recently addressed at least two of the agency's concerns and those of several medical organizations, including the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association.
Revised bylaws, for example, now prohibit members from marketing any candylike flavors in e-cigarettes, to undercut their appeal to children or adolescents.
Also, Linert said, association members do not support the sale of e-cigarettes at kiosks or malls, preferring behind-the-counter sales where the age of customers can be monitored to ensure they are not too young to buy them.
As for the FDA analysis of e-cigarette products, Linert said, it showed only one manufacturer used about a 1 percent solution of diethylene glycol, an antifreeze ingredient toxic to humans, to make the vapor that smokers ultimately expel.
Members of the association use propylene glycol in their e-cigarette products instead, she said. And while propylene glycol also is used in commercial antifreeze, "it's a substance generally considered safe by the government," she said, and also can be found in makeup and food coloring, among other uses.
понедельник, 14 декабря 2009 г.
Ky. universities expand smoking, tobacco bans
Kentucky's flagship public university gave the official heave-ho to tobacco on Thursday, touting the health benefits of a smoke-free policy covering all of its sprawling campus in the heart of burley tobacco country.
The tobacco ban at the University of Kentucky includes outdoor areas and applies to chew, pipes, cigars and snuff as well as cigarettes. Kentucky leads the nation in the production of burley tobacco, and has some of the nation's highest smoking rates.
"Going tobacco-free may not be the easiest thing to do, it may not be the most politically popular thing to do, but in my mind it's the right thing to do for this campus," UK President Lee Todd said in trumpeting the strict anti-tobacco policy.
Not far behind in the tobacco crackdown is the University of Louisville, which started restricting smoking Thursday to limited areas on its Belknap and Shelby campuses.The goal is to make the university totally smoke-free in a year from now.
Pikeville College also announced Thursday it plans for its campus to be tobacco-free by next fall.
In Lexington, some UK students welcomed the tobacco prohibition.
"It'll be nice walking to class and not having to walk in a cloud of smoke," nonsmoker Kelly Stilz, a senior, said while eating a quick breakfast on campus.
Sophomore Matt Danter, also a nonsmoker, harbored no strong feelings about the policy, but said "it seems a little contradictory" given Kentucky's heritage as a tobacco producer.
Danter said he has friends on campus who smoke and don't like the policy. He said he expects to see plenty of scofflaws on campus.
If there's a will, there's a way," he said.The university is stressing treatment, not punishment, for people caught using tobacco on campus. Citations will not be given to violators, and the school will steer them toward treatment. However, UK employees who are flagrant violators could ultimately be fired, and flagrant student violators could face dismissal from school, said Ellen Hahn, a UK nursing professor who played a leading role in implementing the policy.
"We would not expect that," she said, predicting that people will comply.
But the goal is to help them kick their tobacco habits. To help accomplish that, the university will make nicotine replacement products available at no cost for up to 12 weeks for students, faculty and staff enrolled in UK-sponsored tobacco treatment programs, she said.
Those not ready to give up tobacco but wanting to get through the day without a cigarette or a pinch of snuff can get the replacement products at deep discounts on campus, she said.
"We know it's going to take time," said Anthany Beatty, UK's assistant vice president for campus services. "Nicotine is a powerfully addictive substance, and folks just can't drop the habit."
Kent Ratajeski, a lecturer in UK's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said the tobacco-free policy went too far, encroaching on the freedom of students.
"I think the university is telling them how to live their lives," he said.
K has prohibited smoking inside and within 20 feet of buildings since 2006.
Tim Bricker, chairman of pediatrics for the Kentucky Children's Hospital, said he understood the tobacco-free policy will be inconvenient for some on campus. But if the ban improves overall health and entices some people to stop smoking, then it's "really worth it," he said.Kentucky has the nation's highest rate of lung cancer and is third in adult smoking rates, according to the state Department for Public Health.
"Our young people are being targeted by the tobacco companies, and have been for years," said Hahn, who played a key role in implementing the policy. "This policy really is an investment in our young people and in our state."
Even with the ban, UK still has strong ties to tobacco.
Specialists in its College of Agriculture offer production advice to tobacco growers, and UK is home to a research center seeking new commercial uses for tobacco, including pharmaceuticals.
Scott Smith, dean of UK's College of Agriculture, said the university still grows tobacco on its farms as part of research to assist growers and the tobacco industry.
"Tobacco remains an important crop to many Kentucky farms," he said.
Elsewhere, the University of Louisville kicked off its policy Thursday to ban smoking almost everywhere on its campuses. Rather than asking employees and students to quit cold turkey, however, U of L began a phaseout of smoking, with designated smoking areas set up on its Belknap and Shelby campuses. The school will gradually phase out those smoking areas, with the goal of making its campuses totally smoke-free by November 2010.
U of L's Health Sciences campus has been smoke-free since 2004.
"As a university committed to our students, faculty and staff, we are emphasizing the health benefits of not smoking," said U of L Provost Shirley Willihnganz.
The tobacco ban at the University of Kentucky includes outdoor areas and applies to chew, pipes, cigars and snuff as well as cigarettes. Kentucky leads the nation in the production of burley tobacco, and has some of the nation's highest smoking rates.
"Going tobacco-free may not be the easiest thing to do, it may not be the most politically popular thing to do, but in my mind it's the right thing to do for this campus," UK President Lee Todd said in trumpeting the strict anti-tobacco policy.
Not far behind in the tobacco crackdown is the University of Louisville, which started restricting smoking Thursday to limited areas on its Belknap and Shelby campuses.The goal is to make the university totally smoke-free in a year from now.
Pikeville College also announced Thursday it plans for its campus to be tobacco-free by next fall.
In Lexington, some UK students welcomed the tobacco prohibition.
"It'll be nice walking to class and not having to walk in a cloud of smoke," nonsmoker Kelly Stilz, a senior, said while eating a quick breakfast on campus.
Sophomore Matt Danter, also a nonsmoker, harbored no strong feelings about the policy, but said "it seems a little contradictory" given Kentucky's heritage as a tobacco producer.
Danter said he has friends on campus who smoke and don't like the policy. He said he expects to see plenty of scofflaws on campus.
If there's a will, there's a way," he said.The university is stressing treatment, not punishment, for people caught using tobacco on campus. Citations will not be given to violators, and the school will steer them toward treatment. However, UK employees who are flagrant violators could ultimately be fired, and flagrant student violators could face dismissal from school, said Ellen Hahn, a UK nursing professor who played a leading role in implementing the policy.
"We would not expect that," she said, predicting that people will comply.
But the goal is to help them kick their tobacco habits. To help accomplish that, the university will make nicotine replacement products available at no cost for up to 12 weeks for students, faculty and staff enrolled in UK-sponsored tobacco treatment programs, she said.
Those not ready to give up tobacco but wanting to get through the day without a cigarette or a pinch of snuff can get the replacement products at deep discounts on campus, she said.
"We know it's going to take time," said Anthany Beatty, UK's assistant vice president for campus services. "Nicotine is a powerfully addictive substance, and folks just can't drop the habit."
Kent Ratajeski, a lecturer in UK's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said the tobacco-free policy went too far, encroaching on the freedom of students.
"I think the university is telling them how to live their lives," he said.
K has prohibited smoking inside and within 20 feet of buildings since 2006.
Tim Bricker, chairman of pediatrics for the Kentucky Children's Hospital, said he understood the tobacco-free policy will be inconvenient for some on campus. But if the ban improves overall health and entices some people to stop smoking, then it's "really worth it," he said.Kentucky has the nation's highest rate of lung cancer and is third in adult smoking rates, according to the state Department for Public Health.
"Our young people are being targeted by the tobacco companies, and have been for years," said Hahn, who played a key role in implementing the policy. "This policy really is an investment in our young people and in our state."
Even with the ban, UK still has strong ties to tobacco.
Specialists in its College of Agriculture offer production advice to tobacco growers, and UK is home to a research center seeking new commercial uses for tobacco, including pharmaceuticals.
Scott Smith, dean of UK's College of Agriculture, said the university still grows tobacco on its farms as part of research to assist growers and the tobacco industry.
"Tobacco remains an important crop to many Kentucky farms," he said.
Elsewhere, the University of Louisville kicked off its policy Thursday to ban smoking almost everywhere on its campuses. Rather than asking employees and students to quit cold turkey, however, U of L began a phaseout of smoking, with designated smoking areas set up on its Belknap and Shelby campuses. The school will gradually phase out those smoking areas, with the goal of making its campuses totally smoke-free by November 2010.
U of L's Health Sciences campus has been smoke-free since 2004.
"As a university committed to our students, faculty and staff, we are emphasizing the health benefits of not smoking," said U of L Provost Shirley Willihnganz.
понедельник, 30 ноября 2009 г.
Excise duty for cigarettes and gambling go up, alcohol and beer get off safe
MPs failed to adopt the increase of excise duty on spirits and beer while voting the amendments to the Excise Duty and Tax Warehouses Act. The proposal was excise of the ethyl alcohol to be increased from BGN 1100 to BGN 1250 per 1 hectoliter pure alcohol, and the excise duty on the ethyl alcohol (home-made brandy) produced in small distillatory to increase from BGN 550 to BGN 625 per 1 hectoliter pure alcohol.
MPs increased excise of cigarettes on Thursday.The specific excise is increased from BGN 41 to BGN 101 per 1000 pieces and the proportional excise is raised from 23 to 40.50%. Amendments to the Excise Duty and Tax Warehouses Act provide specific excise duty not to be less than BGN 148 per 1000.
Bulgarian parliament passed 15% increase of excise duty on gambling on second reading amendments to the Corporate Income Tax Act. The proposal was passed unanimously with 149 votes “for”.
Rising the excise on gambling from 10% to 15% will pour about BGN 150 million in the budget. This is what co-chair of the Blue Coalition Ivann Kostov said at the parliament during a discussion on the amendments to the Corporate Income Tax Act, cited by FOCUS News Agency reporter.
This year is expected BGN 117 million revenues to the budget in view of the current excise.
Aliosman Imamov from Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) commented that the main problem in this field is not the tax rate but regulation and control. Fiscal effect of this action will not be achieved due to the lack of control.
MPs increased excise of cigarettes on Thursday.The specific excise is increased from BGN 41 to BGN 101 per 1000 pieces and the proportional excise is raised from 23 to 40.50%. Amendments to the Excise Duty and Tax Warehouses Act provide specific excise duty not to be less than BGN 148 per 1000.
Bulgarian parliament passed 15% increase of excise duty on gambling on second reading amendments to the Corporate Income Tax Act. The proposal was passed unanimously with 149 votes “for”.
Rising the excise on gambling from 10% to 15% will pour about BGN 150 million in the budget. This is what co-chair of the Blue Coalition Ivann Kostov said at the parliament during a discussion on the amendments to the Corporate Income Tax Act, cited by FOCUS News Agency reporter.
This year is expected BGN 117 million revenues to the budget in view of the current excise.
Aliosman Imamov from Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) commented that the main problem in this field is not the tax rate but regulation and control. Fiscal effect of this action will not be achieved due to the lack of control.
пятница, 27 ноября 2009 г.
Secondhand smoke fight not over
Recently, activities were held across the state in honor of the Great American Smoke Out, the annual event that encourages smokers and tobacco users to quit.
In Baton Rouge, a special, smoke-free Great American Smoke Out event was held at Boudreaux and Thibodeaux’s that celebrated the smoke-free bar.
Coincidentally, United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings were released, and Louisiana moved up from 50th to 47th, marking the state’s highest ranking since the annual study began.
What played a key part in this upward trend for our state?
A decrease in smoking rates that moved Louisiana up six spots to 35th in the country. It’s an impressive move that highlights the importance of events such as the Great American Smoke Out, as well as smoke-free air laws.
From the passage of The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act in 2006 to this latest improvement in America’s Health Rankings, we can be proud of what we’ve achieved, but there is much more left to accomplish.
While the Smoke-Free Air Act cleared the air in restaurants and most workplaces in Louisiana, thousands of patrons and employees of bars and casinos are still exposed to harmful secondhand smoke every day.
If Louisiana is to continue to improve, we must continue to support events such as the Great American Smoke Out and to consider policies that protect the health of all Louisiana citizens.
We must work to protect the bartenders, casino employees and our beloved musicians and performers who continue to put their health on the line to earn a paycheck.
In Baton Rouge, a special, smoke-free Great American Smoke Out event was held at Boudreaux and Thibodeaux’s that celebrated the smoke-free bar.
Coincidentally, United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings were released, and Louisiana moved up from 50th to 47th, marking the state’s highest ranking since the annual study began.
What played a key part in this upward trend for our state?
A decrease in smoking rates that moved Louisiana up six spots to 35th in the country. It’s an impressive move that highlights the importance of events such as the Great American Smoke Out, as well as smoke-free air laws.
From the passage of The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act in 2006 to this latest improvement in America’s Health Rankings, we can be proud of what we’ve achieved, but there is much more left to accomplish.
While the Smoke-Free Air Act cleared the air in restaurants and most workplaces in Louisiana, thousands of patrons and employees of bars and casinos are still exposed to harmful secondhand smoke every day.
If Louisiana is to continue to improve, we must continue to support events such as the Great American Smoke Out and to consider policies that protect the health of all Louisiana citizens.
We must work to protect the bartenders, casino employees and our beloved musicians and performers who continue to put their health on the line to earn a paycheck.
Man dies after eating khaini with pesticide laced hands
A farmer in a Bihar village died after he consumed khaini, an addictive tobaccoconcoction, that he mixed with his pesticide laced hands on his farm, family of the victim said.
Mahadev Sah, a resident of Bharra village in Begusarai district, died soon after consuming the powder.
“My husband died soon after he consumed khaini mixed in his pesticide laced hands,” Geeta Devi, wife of Sah, said.
Devi told police that her husband was spraying pesticide on the crop in their field and then mixed tobacco in his hands.
“Soon after he complained of weakness and vomiting,” she said.
Mahadev Sah, a resident of Bharra village in Begusarai district, died soon after consuming the powder.
“My husband died soon after he consumed khaini mixed in his pesticide laced hands,” Geeta Devi, wife of Sah, said.
Devi told police that her husband was spraying pesticide on the crop in their field and then mixed tobacco in his hands.
“Soon after he complained of weakness and vomiting,” she said.
вторник, 24 ноября 2009 г.
Apple "refuses to repair smokers' Macs"
Apple is reportedly refusing to repair the Macs of smokers because the tobacco residue inside the machines poses a health risk.
Two separate US Apple repair centres have allegedly told customers that they couldn't repair their Macs because their machines had been contaminated by cigarette smoke.
"When I asked for an explanation, she said he's a smoker and it's contaminated with cigarette smoke which they consider a bio-hazard!" claims one of the customers, who was attempting to get her son's Mac repaired, according to the Consumerist website.
"I checked my Applecare warranty and it says nothing about not honouring warranties if the owner is a smoker. The Applecare representative said they defer to the technician and my son's computer cannot be fixed at any Apple Service Centre due to being listed a bio-hazard."
When the customer complained to Steve Jobs' office, she was reportedly told that nicotine was listed as a hazardous substance by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration and that the company wouldn't undertake a repair.
Another customer got a similar answer from a repair store in Iowa.
Apple's safety-first approach to dangerous substances might raise eyebrows at Greenpeace. Although Apple is praised for its work in eliminating dangerous chemicals from its products, substances such as Arsenic can still be found in Apple hardware, according to its latest Guide to Greener Electronics (PDF).
Apple was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
Two separate US Apple repair centres have allegedly told customers that they couldn't repair their Macs because their machines had been contaminated by cigarette smoke.
"When I asked for an explanation, she said he's a smoker and it's contaminated with cigarette smoke which they consider a bio-hazard!" claims one of the customers, who was attempting to get her son's Mac repaired, according to the Consumerist website.
"I checked my Applecare warranty and it says nothing about not honouring warranties if the owner is a smoker. The Applecare representative said they defer to the technician and my son's computer cannot be fixed at any Apple Service Centre due to being listed a bio-hazard."
When the customer complained to Steve Jobs' office, she was reportedly told that nicotine was listed as a hazardous substance by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration and that the company wouldn't undertake a repair.
Another customer got a similar answer from a repair store in Iowa.
Apple's safety-first approach to dangerous substances might raise eyebrows at Greenpeace. Although Apple is praised for its work in eliminating dangerous chemicals from its products, substances such as Arsenic can still be found in Apple hardware, according to its latest Guide to Greener Electronics (PDF).
Apple was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
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