Two smokers recently sent their Macs to Apple to be repaired under the AppleCare warranty. Instead of the quick fix they were expecting, they received a curt reply from the company stating that the machines could not be repaired because of the effects of secondhand smoke on employees.

The first, a MacBook owner, was told that secondhand smoke violated the system’s warranty. Apple informed the second individual that her iMac was beyond economic repair because of the effects of cigarette tar– even though only one person in her household smokes. Nowhere in the AppleCare warranty terms is there a provision regarding smoking.

This wouldn’t be the first time Apple has been cited for poor warranty support. Then again, many people (myself included) have been using AppleCare for years and experienced nothing but the best support. Perhaps the result of a few bad apples in corporate, or is this a new cost-cutting measure at Cupertino?

If Apple is going to continue this policy, maybe it should consider how much of its hipster, non-conformist market smokes? What about weed? Steve Jobs smoked pot back in the day. Does that mean he violated his Apple warranty terms, too?

Photo | Niccolò Caranti