CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
As the rise of legally grey and potentially dangerous nicotine vaping devices continues to tear through schools and workplaces without any of our elected officials having any fucking idea about what is going – the line between recreational and full blown habitual second-nature is growing increasingly thin.
And with this new wave of addicts comes a complete lack of understanding of the traditional ettiquete that smokers would once show those around them.
No longer are they going outside to punch one out, and in the case of inside vaping, barely any of them are making the effort to stand near a window.
Right across Australia, people who would never touch a packet of darts with a ten foot pole are now fully hooked on the concept of breathing in nicotine every five minutes. And it’s causing hell for a hospitality operators.
After spending twenty years tirelessly outlining the ever-changing concept of a ‘smoking area’ – our pubs and bars are at a loss of what to do about this new trend of people puffing away whenever and wherever they feel like.
Sitting in the front bar of the Lord Mendehlson Hotel this arvo, one local newcomer to nicotine is today doing what these vape addicts do best.
By keeping his Chinese-made disposable device covertly tucked in his hand, and discreetly taking hits of it indoors.
After arriving half an hour early for lunch, local farm machinery sales rep Lyndon Carina (28) thought he may as well take the solitary silence as an opportunity tip a few solo beers and look at his phone.
And smash that fucken vape.
Rotating from the quick puff into a quick sip technique, to the pretend-to-stretch and blow into the shirt manoeuvre – at least Lyndo is showing some rarely seen manners by keeping an eye on the bartender. Just to make sure she doesn’t have to worry about seeing him ingest openly ingest nicotine less than 10 paces from her.
However, bar girl Pippa Beattie (22) didn’t come down in the last shower.
“He thinks I can’t tell” she chuckles to the Betoota Advocate.
“This is a drinkers pub. Does he think it usually smells like Guave Watermelon Mint?”
“It’s meant to smell like stale piss. Lager and urine. Don’t come in here with all those sweet Asian flavours that are clearly marketed at kids and think I won’t know what’s going on”
When asked what she planned to do about this clear defiance of very new rules, Pippa said fuck all.
“I don’t own this joint. Who gives a shit” she sneers, as she discreetly exhales a lungful of Grape Blast out of her nostrils.
