Making Headlines

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 15 years, or longer, you know that smoking isn't good for you. You know this even if you do it.

But did you know smoking is also bad for your computer?

If you're an Apple user and someone who smokes (indoors no less), you should be advised that Fort Lauderdale computer repair will be hard to come by, if at all.

That's because multiple Apple owners claim that their warranties have been refused due to "health risks of second hand smoke."

Two separate cases have been reported in which people were refused computer services pertaining to their Apples due to the presence of damage related to smoking.

The readers were reportedly told that computers with evidence of smoke damage could not be worked on because Apple considers them to be health hazards, and to have any workers repair the computer would be an OSHA violation.

Employees at one Apple store reportedly told a customer that her computer was "beyond economical repair due to tar from cigarette smoke." That's gotta hurt.

Lest you worry that perhaps this was an isolated case and not a company policy, both customers sent letters directly to Steve Jobs' office and were politely denied service even though they had active Applecare warranties.

One reader received a response advising that "nicotine is on OSHA's list of hazardous substances and Apple would not require an employee to repair anything deemed hazardous to their health." And that's a second-hand hazard!

It is unclear if this is a blanket Apple policy or if there is a workable threshold for the amount of smoke damage present. In other words, if you had one cigarette, and they could tell, would you receive proper assistance then?

Not that it matters. You really shouldn't. Smoke, that is. If someone is not willing or able to touch your computer based on it, think what your lungs look like!