A Canadian cop fought for his right to use his medicine on the job. (sadly, he has since passed away)
I do occasional work in breweries, and I can tell you for certain that even though over a decade has passed since that thread the practice still continues. At the breweries I’ve worked in, employees are given a case of beer each month (maybe two if you’re a manager, not sure) and beer is available for taste testing in the lunch room. Employees are encouraged to taste the free beer and provide feedback on the taste. It’s an additional level of quality control and gives feedback on some of the experimental and holiday type flavors that aren’t produced all the time.
You can’t drink yourself silly at lunch though. That would get you fired very quickly.
And Camel may give out free cartons to its employees; it may also have “taste” tests it it tweaks a brands, or puts out a new syrup for one of its eCigs. But it still doesn’t let people use the cigs, e or otherwise, at their desks. That’s in-line with local regs and insurance mandates, I’m sure.
Hookah bars probably pay a LOT in insurance just to be able to have something burning on the premises. My son had a birthday party at a local venue, and they were very specific about what kind of candles we could use-- only the little, regular-burning one. None of the relight kind, no sparklers, none of those big number candles, and the employee was in charge of lighting them. We were told it was an insurance requirement. Also, if any guests were oxygen users, they had to leave the room during the candle-lighting, or we had to forgo it (so far, no complaints about discrimination against the disabled, I guess because no one wants their oxygen tank to blow up).
FWIW, theaters were some of the first places to ban cigarettes, long before it was a health concern, because theaters are fire traps.