'Spin Doctor #6' by Stuart Evans
Author: Stuart Evans
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Music's a dangerous thing to enjoy. Whilst it's a stress reliever and can provide a sense of escapism - especially if work is proving to be rough and the weekend can't come soon enough, Saturday night is normally seen as something of a blessing.
Saturday is the highlight of week, and what better way to spend it than in a club. Listening to a DJ play the tune that you've been longing for can make or break a night - that's the power of the messiah behind the decks; he holds the musical key to making a good weekend great.
So, Saturday night arrives and, after you queue for hours just to get through the big steel doors that clubs like to purchase - bypassing the burly doorman on the way of course, what comes next is either one of the following:
•A beer
•A fag (smoke)
•A beer and a fag
•Something else which, for legal reasons, I can't name.
In the crazy world that we live in smoking is now deemed secondary, with smokers feeling like second class citizens in clubs and bars - ostracized for something that they have little control over. It's a habit, after all, and bad habits are hard to break.
It's gone a little unnoticed, but it's only a matter of time before legislation hits and all smokers face the prospect of dipping in and out of venues to fulfill their craving.
Surprisingly, I'm not a smoker - I used to smoke, but now I'm a preacher who spends his days trying to convert people off nicotine. Ok, so I'm joking - but I know how annoyed I would have been if smoking was banned inside my favourite club. Selfish, yes - but it's the end of an era.
It won't be too long before smoking is banned in all clubs, regardless of where in the world we reside or what venue we frequent.
As the divide between smokers and non-smokers widens, how long before the same divide opens up between obese and not obese- Same stigma, yet different classification.
Is banning smoking in clubs a good or bad thing- Will clubs provide a smokers' room, only visible from the haze that will no doubt surround it- Will djs be exempt-
Let me know your thoughts - email me on stuart@vibecommunications.com.au
Stuart Evans runs Vibe Communications - a PR and communications agency dedicated to the music and entertainment industry.
Tags