EFFIE BATEMAN | Lifestyle | Contact
It appears as though millennials have finally handed over the ‘we’ve killed the industry’ baton to Gen Z, who have now been accused of killing the Aussie tradition of having a smoko.
For those who never got into lung lollies, ‘smoko’ or ‘smoke breaks’ gave hospo workers an excuse to duck out for fifteen minute breaks, which would even border on every hour if you were enough to have a manager who too, had a crippling nicotine addiction. In addition to getting extra breaks, smokos also provided prime bonding opportunities amongst coworkers, to the point where if you didn’t smoke, you probably weren’t getting invited to anything.
However, with the rise of vaping, it appears that the concept of having a smoke break has slowly disappeared over the past few years, as the younger generation prefer to have a sneaky vape in the toilets, or use the blatant ‘blow under the shirt’ technique.
Speaking to pub veteran Alan Thomas, 52, who has managed Betoota’s Pink Flamingo bar for the past fifteen years, The Advocate learns more about this sudden culture shift, and the impact it has on the hospo industry.
“Back in my day, it was how you made friends”, says Alan, looking slightly wistful, “some of my fondest memories were sitting on a milk crate in the back of a bar.”
“Now the kids just vape indoors, on they’re own.”
“I think it’s quite sad actually.”
More to come.
