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.