Flight attendant reported confusion about airline policy relating to the face mask policy.

Attributes
ACN	1752691
Time
Date	202007
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Commercial Fixed Wing
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Other boarding and in flight
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Qualification	Flight Attendant Current
Person 2
Function	Flight Attendant In Charge
Qualification	Flight Attendant Current
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Passenger Misconduct

Narrative:

Repeatedly asked passenger seated in xx to wear mask during boarding process and in flight. Said he did not have to wear it during last couple reminders because he had a package of candy and a power aid bottle next to him and the 'eating or drinking' rule applied; even though when asked to wear his mask he was neither eating or drinking. No action was taken because this was a short flight and did not feel comfortable since he was claiming to be eating and drinking the entire time.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Flight Attendant reported confusion about airline policy relating to the face mask policy.

Narrative: Repeatedly asked passenger seated in XX to wear mask during boarding process and in flight. Said he did not have to wear it during last couple reminders because he had a package of candy and a power aid bottle next to him and the 'eating or drinking' rule applied; even though when asked to wear his mask he was neither eating or drinking. No action was taken because this was a short flight and did not feel comfortable since he was claiming to be eating and drinking the entire time.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.