I surmise that it might matter because at stake is not only Alex's present health, but also, various subtle aspects of their prospects for future employment and other career-related stuff that can be affected by exactly how he thinks of them. Of course, some people would be a lot touchier about this than others - but Alex was concerned about how to make the request, which might be a sign that at least he's not so easy-going that any way of making it will do fine.
It's also delicate because - if this office is where I assume it is - he's not allowed to use an e-cig in his office anyway. You didn't mention that, Alex, but I assume you knew it? [ETA I didn't, when I typed the earlier comment.] So asking him not to vape in his office before meetings involves sharing an assumption that he was doing something he shouldn't have been doing anyway... which should make it easier to get him to stop, but not necessarily easy to get him to stop without putting his back up!
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regna
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Date: 2014-12-08 07:45 pm (UTC)It's also delicate because - if this office is where I assume it is - he's not allowed to use an e-cig in his office anyway. You didn't mention that, Alex, but I assume you knew it? [ETA I didn't, when I typed the earlier comment.] So asking him not to vape in his office before meetings involves sharing an assumption that he was doing something he shouldn't have been doing anyway... which should make it easier to get him to stop, but not necessarily easy to get him to stop without putting his back up!