Apple won't repair Macs if owners are smokers

14. How many people have air purifiers and do not smoke. Has anyone ever cleaned one?

How about the air conditioner filter? All are full of gunk Who’s to say it was the cigarette smoke and not the dust, cat or dog dander or what ever that’s also in there was not what caused the break down?

I was not asked if I smoke when I bought my MacBook Pro and they gladly took my money. They sold me a contract! Now if it needs repair and they claim there is smoke in the machine it voids the contract? YEA RIGHT!

If this is true, this was my first Apple product and it will be my last, Sony I will be back!

For all you non Smokers, I will most likely die of cancer and If I’m not mistaken it will be within Two (2) years after I get it. You who may live forever and loose your mind in a nursing home, you will languish for at average five (5) years and loose everything you ever worked for.

All the tax money that is taken from the smokers and the cigarette companies was supposed to go towards the medical cost in each state not their general fund which they use for everything but medical cost. So stop crying about cost because in the end it is the non smoker who will bankrupt the system, not the smoker for there will not be enough of us left, to do it for you! TKH

13. A Daily Mail story?

12. Siiigh.... OK, Ok, can we separate the smoker/non smoker issue from the one concerning Apple's weasly attempt to get out of fixing a duff machine?

I believe that nicotine is on the naughty list in the US, and possibly, Apple are worried about some wierd legal problem with some employee.....caused by a compensation culture and outrageous H&S rules.

God...just get a tech that smokes to fix it!

Either that or Apple are trying to weasel out of fixing a machine.

Did that actually test for nicotine? tar should be OK - what about diesel particulants? Are bus drivers going to be refused a fix too?

Now a small rant

@ssrearadmiral:

Amazingly, I don't think nonsmokers are morons, although your moniker is superb - the right rank for being soooo far up your own!

@feefer:

Are you an accountant? Smokers have paid and paid again for any treatment they may require!

A little tolerence goes a long way...

(I know, I fell into my own trap....sigh)

11. Well, interesting, including the aspect that we should all have known about smoke impact on electronics long before this. I gather most of us (including me) have not heard this.

I am torn. I am one of those people who find Apple beyond smug, considering how close they were to dieing 10 years ago. I am also an ex-smoker, which can make me more anti-smoking than a non-smoker.

My question: do the major PC makers/retailers have this problem too?

10. Wait a minute... shyguy, don't you always wash your hands immediately before typing on your keyboard? (I'm kidding)

I can't say I'm terribly surprised that Apple is doing this, but it doesn't mean that they will get away with it. Think about the lady that sued McDonald's a few years ago for the coffee being too hot... needless to say I expect legal action.

That being said, if we parallel this with cell phone companies that can refuse to fix a phone if there's evidence of water damage (normal humidity will often appear as water damage, by the way), maybe Apple will win this one.

Time will tell.

9. "GOOD, another penalty on ******* smokers!"

I don't see it as a penalty on smokers, just shifting the penalty BACK to smokers, and OFF non-smokers. Novel idea, forcing smokers to pay their own way....

Make no mistake: non-smokers are currently bearing the costs of PAYING for damage resultant from smokers, whether in the form of paying for unnecessary and preventable damage from Apple Care, or paying spiraling health-care costs for smokers.

I have no problem with anyone who wants to smoke, become an alcoholic, sit around eating bon-bons, not exercise, crash their car intentionally, etc, just as long as they actually can PAY for the damage which will be needed in the future....

It seems so obvious: if you crash your car into a tree when drunk, it's only reasonable to anticipate insurers will raise your auto insurance rates in the future. If you leave your computer outside for days in the rain, why should I pay for you abusing your Mac?

8. The problems of toxins from smoke damaging electronics and circuit boards is well-known, and so obvious, that I have to ask why this should be news to any one.

As a kid learning electronics repair 30 years ago, I remember the stories of techs from the 1950's who noticed more work repairing TV sets of smokers, with their suspicions confirmed by seeing the corrosive damage and heavy coating on circuit boards and components. Excuse me for not thinking twice about the assumption that smoke is bad for sensitive electronic gear?

Not to mention that these owners are willingly introducing these same damaging oxidative chemicals into their LUNGS, also expecting the rest of us have to bear the costs of treating their lung cancer. Trust and believe, this is a wee bit more expensive than replacing a burned-out mother board.

So I have no problems with people inflicting damage on themselves and their computers by smoking, just don't expect the rest of us to PAY for it (and non-smokers DO pay for it, whether you want to admit it or not).

7. I have a new Mac airbook, it will be the first and last, under those ridiculous conditions.

Hello PC

6. smokers are morons and deserve it...

5. GOOD, another penalty on ******* smokers!

4. Not sure how it works in the US, but in the EU we have laws about insane warranty conditions. No probs if they don't want their staff to handle smokers' Macs - they'll just have to ship replacements.

3. P.S. I don't smoke but I reserve the right for other people to choose to smoke (and use their computers at the same time).

2. Well, I think this is ridiculous.... I hope Apple loses a lot of customers. Next they'll be refusing to repair computers that are used in home kitchens because the smoke from the fried food or burnt toast gets in the machines.

They'll want us to wash our hands before we type on the keyboard.... wash dvds and cds before they go in the optical drive... Oh yes and we better not breath on the laptops before we send them off for repair in case an engineer gets swine flu.

Get a life Apple.

1. Well this seems right refusing these repairs

i work for an Apple Service Provider and we get Mac's in from heavy smokers and the machines inside are disgusting components coated in thick yellow Tar.

This causes damage to the internal components and stops the fans spinning sometines. Apple should not cover this nor should Service Technicians be exposed to this!!!!!!!!!