How I was bounced by a fag-break flirt
The ban also has changed how some people make a living, but no one has been affected more than the ‘customer comfort and safety liaison personnel’ (otherwise known as doormen).
I work in this field myself two nights a week and the job has changed completely. For a start, I’m back on the cigarettes since the ban. It’s difficult to say no when one is being constantly tempted by something that obviously gives some kind of relief or pleasure.
We are also dealing with the customers on a very personal basis. Most men who come outside the door stick to the same three topics: they moan about the ban, the weather and football.
But the greatest surprise has been the way women have reacted. They don’t dwell on the ban or the weather, but see it as an opportunity to hone their flirting skills. I am shocked by the frankly personal questions I’m asked; more sensitive men would be embarrassed by the not-so-subtle sexual innuendo during these cigarette breaks, while the women’s partners, completely unaware, sit at the bar. If it wasn’t for the nature of our work this could only be described as sexual harassment. There is only so much temptation a man can take.
We are grateful for the trouble-free introduction of the smoking ban.
I’d say it more than makes up for the demise of the slow dance sets in the nightclubs. When were they banned?
Stephen Spratt,
Carrigane,
Carrigtwohill,
Co Cork.
