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Being a cigarette smoker myself, I found this story particularly upsetting. However, apparently, smoking around your Mac (or any computer for that matter) might not be such a good idea anymore. According to The Consumerist, two people have been turned down for AppleCare maintenance because their Macs were used in a residence with a smoker. Both cases were appealed all the way up to Steve Jobs’ level, and they both lost because the tar and other chemicals in cigarette smoke which were found inside the computers were considered a “biohazard.”

If you’ve ever looked inside a computer used by heavy smokers, you’d probably understand why it would be a much harder job for an AppleCare employee to fix up your Mac, but I’d hardly agree that doing so is a biohazard. Not many people are heavy smokers around their computer, and although they may leave some dark resin-like substance, that doesn’t mean it isn’t removable and will cause any harm to the employee’s health, especially if protective gear is worn (although I doubt that is even necessary).

Regardless of my opinion, Apple’s was quite the opposite. The company believed it was within its rights to deny coverage in these two cases, as their wording in their limitations of coverage was loose enough. You can see below in a quote from the document:

The Plan does not cover:

Damage to the Covered Equipment caused by accident, abuse, neglect, misuse (including faulty installation, repair, or maintenance by anyone other than Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider), unauthorized modification, extreme environment (including extreme temperature or humidity), extreme physical or electrical stress or interference, fluctuation or surges of electrical power, lightning, static electricity, fire, acts of God or other external causes.

In case you’re wondering which part of that refers to tobacco smoke, it would be the “other external causes” or possibly even the “extreme environment.” So, if you smoke inside your home, it might be a good idea to at least stay away from your Mac from now on.

Read [The Consumerist]