'The Apple store called and informed me that due to the computer having been used in a house where there was smoking, [the warranty has been voided] and they refuse to work on the machine "due to health risks of second hand smoke,"' wrote one customer. Another said, 'When I asked for an explanation, she said [the owner of the iMac is] a smoker and it's contaminated with cigarette smoke, which they consider a bio-hazard!

carp, smoking ruins a computer.

Now, I am as much against smoking as anyone. I also do not want workers needlessly exposed to hazardous substances. Still, for Apple to deny warranty claims on Macs exposed to cigarette smoke seems way over the line.

Yet, that is what The Consumerist says Apple has done on at least two occasions in recent months.

Apple is apparently telling at least some customers that the amount of cigarette smoke residue inside their computers makes it unsafe for the company to perform warranty service on them, despite the lack of such a clause in the company's warranty agreement.

The Consumerist says the complaint as been raised as far as Steve Jobs' office, with no relief for the customers involved.

The story was reported on Friday, though the Consumerist said it had sought, but failed to receive, any explanation from Apple HQ over a period of months. (The site is part of the Consumers Union/Consumer Reports organization, so I deem the report credible).

People are complaining that Apple refused to repair their under-warranty computers because they were "contaminated" by cigarette smoke.

Consumerists notes two particular cases where Apple customers seeking warranty services on their laptops and computers were turned away.

One customer with a $3000 iMac was denied services eventually emailed CEO Steve Jobs to complain.

Eventually a woman from Steve's office named Dena called the customer "to deliver the bad news."

She said that the computer is beyond economical repair due to tar from cigarette smoke! She said the
hard drive is about to fail, the optical drive has failed and it isn't feasible to repair the computer under the warranty. This computer is less than 2 years old! Only one person in my household smokes - one 21 year old college student. She said that I can get it repaired elsewhere at my expense.

Ah. The good ol' hard-drive-is-full-of-tar excuse.

Because the organic material in tobacco doesn't burn completely, cigarette smoke contains more than 4,700 chemical compounds. Although OSHA has no regulation that addresses tobacco smoke as a whole

I wonder if maybe it's the techs who are refusing to work on one that is really nasty when they open it up.

That makes sense. If there's that much buildup inside the machine, there could quite possibly be issues related to it. One must also think that such a builup makes the machine difficult to work on.

However there is NO Hazard for the tech , unless he/she cleans it with their lips .

This is what it looked like:

That's quite the bold statement there. I wouldn't ever claim anything is not hazardous, especially situations like this.

What happens if the technician is allergic to cig. smoke or a chemical in the smoke?

What if the person is allergic to plastic ? or electricity or copper or , we can go on for ever . If it was hazardous OSHA and EPA would have flagged it . We do know it is certainly not good for ya so don't lick it and wash your hands like your supposed to do

I wouldn't totally depend on OSHA and/or EPA to label all things correctly and quickly.

But again, like I said before, I wouldn't be so quick to label 2nd hand smoke residue as NOT hazardous, like you did.

Hazard
For other uses of Hazard, see Hazard (disambiguation).
A hazard is a situation that poses a level of threat to life, health, property, or environment. Most hazards are dormant or potential, with only a theoretical risk of harm; however, once a hazard becomes 'active', it can create an emergency situation. A hazard does not exist when it is happening. A hazardous situation that has come to pass is called an incident. Hazard and vulnerability interact together to create risk.

Most people aren't allergic to water, but I'd guess that if you tried to take a soaking-wet computer in for service, you probably wouldn't get too far.

Well Rats! I'll keep an eye open for something to come down the road!

Means absolutely nothing - Kate

Read the measures

Like I mentioned above when OSHA and EPA issues a Hazard waring requiring ((Protective)) gear to be worn . Those links means very little at all , except for some engineers .

Exposure Limits
OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for General Industry: 29 CFR 1910.1000 Z-1 Table -- 0.5 mg/m3 TWA (Skin)

OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for Construction Industry: 29 CFR 1926.55 Appendix A -- 0.5 mg/m3 TWA; Skin

OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for Maritime: 29 CFR 1915.1000 Table Z-Shipyards -- 0.5 mg/m3 TWA; Skin

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Value (TLV): 0.5 mg/m3 TWA; Skin

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Recommended Exposure Limit (REL): 0.5 mg/m3 TWA; Skin

Health Factors
NIOSH Immediately Dangerous To Life or Health Concentration (IDLH): 5 mg/m3

Potential symptoms: Nausea, salivation, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea; headache, dizziness, hearing, visual disturbance; confusion, lassitude (weakness, exhaustion), incoordination; cardiac arrhythmias; convulsions, dyspnea (breathing difficulty); in animals: teratogenic effects

Health Effects: Acute systemic toxicity (HE4); CNS damage (HE7) Suspect teratogen (HE5)

Affected organs: central nervous system, cardiovascular system, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, reproductive system

I reckon anything that can coat the internal components (and is at all conductive) is also capable of leading to unwarrantable damage because it could induce shorts (not the edible kind).

Sounds like something.

Meh... it's nothing... I asked Carp.

Actually, for me, it is nothing. I just quit smoking after 30 years.
Well... I quit last year also. Maybe it will take this time.

Anyways... my doctor took X-Rays of my lungs and now refuses to work on me.

Someone invent sweet smelling cigs with no nicotine! Asparagus cigarettes!

Don't know about Asparagus, but there are these.