Apple Sets Policy On Smoke and Warranties

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Date: Tuesday, November 24th, 2009, 06:00
Category: News

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Well, you’ve got another reason to quit smoking.

On Friday, Consumerist reported that Apple set policy when the company denied several users repairs under its AppleCare Protection Plan (APP) because the machine had been exposed to smoke.

The first case involved a Mid-2007 MacBook under APP that was brought to the Jordan Creek Apple Store in West Des Moines, Iowa, for overheating. Apple voided the warranty because the computer was used in a house where there was smoking. It also refused to work on the machine due to the “health risks of second hand smoke.”

In another case, an iMac under AppleCare was refused repairs because it was deemed “contaminated” by tobacco smoke and and considered a “bio-hazard.”

Apparently nicotine is on OSHA’s list of hazardous and toxic substances and Apple will not force an employee to work on anything deemed hazardous to their health because of the obvious legal exposure that could create.

Apple has yet to release any formal disclosures regarding this new policy and it’s unknown as to whether this is forthcoming.

So, yeah, that habit that’s as addictive as heroin, you might want to quit it if you want to get your money’s worth that you put into an AppleCare plan…

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  • Joe

    Applecare and 2nd hand smoke? This is why I’m a Republican. I’d tell Steve Jobs to stop leftist crap, and leave the politics out of his business, internally and otherwise. I buy Apple products because of their superiority and not because of Jobs’ social politics. If there is legitimate damage, ok but investigate first.

  • Craig

    Apple’s hardware warranty is voided by “damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, flood, fire, earthquake or other external causes”, meaning that if there’s enough buildup of foreign material inside a device so that it requires service, Apple may void the warranty. If you run an iMac in a very dusty environment, dust can build up and cause overheating and possible damage. That’s not technically covered under the warranty either.

    Some of the machines that come in for service are literally brown, both inside and out, from smoke and tar residue… it’s disgusting and highly toxic. It’s always been a policy within Apple retail to allow an employee the right to refuse repair of a product because of tobacco contamination; it’s just there’s usually someone on staff who doesn’t mind doing it.