Author Topic: AUDIENCES: E-Cigarettes  (Read 6342 times)

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maximillionx

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AUDIENCES: E-Cigarettes
« on: May 19, 2014, 09:50 pm »
Wondering if anyone else has had any experience with this recently, given the new prevalence of them....

We're in the middle of act 1 and I see a young gentlemen (21ish) putting something to his mouth, as if he's chewing on it. I then notice that there's a dull blue light in the palm of his hand and, to my amazement, he slowly and in a subtle fashion lets out a puff of smoke.  As soon as I was able, which happened to be the start of intermission, I pulled him aside and warned him that he was either to put it away or he would be asked to leave.  I brought this up to the rest of our staff so that we now have an e-cig policy to add to our reg-cig policy.

I have to admit I was a little dumbfounded.  Not only that someone would try it, but also what the new standards on smoking e-cigarettes in a public establishment like a theatre are.  I consulted my lawyer (wife), who hadn't heard any cases recently, but did tell me they're not allowed on airplanes.  One of my co-worker friends who has restaurant-managing experience mentioned he had seen e-cigs smoked in an establishment he worked at and the policy of the owner was they weren't to be bothered unless another patron complained (full disclosure: this was not the correct policy in my friend's opinion, but rather the owner was of so-so competence).

Anyone else have an experience like this?  Anyone have policies put in place for something like this?

iamchristuffin

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Re: AUDIENCES: E-Cigarettes
« Reply #1 on: May 20, 2014, 03:10 am »
I tried to guess based on your past posts, but no dice - are you US based?

C

Michelle R. Wood

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Re: AUDIENCES: E-Cigarettes
« Reply #2 on: May 20, 2014, 01:47 pm »
Worse than a patron: in the past year I observed someone in a leadership position light up during a break (not outside). I wondered if other people were having similar problems.
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KMC

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Re: AUDIENCES: E-Cigarettes
« Reply #3 on: May 20, 2014, 02:23 pm »
Let's be clear on a few differences between e-cigarettes and cigarettes.  E-cigarettes are not a tobacco product and do not contain carcinogens.  The liquid is a food-grade glycol (propylene glycol - FDA approved for human consumption) with nicotine added (very little of which transfers to the second-hand vapor). 

I've been up close to people "vaping", and while I find it pretty annoying I can't smell, detect, taste, etc. anything secondhand like I would with a cigarette.  We treat them like cigarettes because they look like cigarettes, not because they are like cigarettes.  I personally find it very annoying when people "vape" in my presence, but I recognize I don't have the right to not be annoyed by someone else's behavior (much to my dismay sometimes... ;)). 

From the perspective of the SM I think it should be treated more like cell phone, camera, etc.. use in the audience - it's definitely audience members behaving badly, and in my opinion should be dealt with from that perspective. 
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MatthewShiner

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Re: AUDIENCES: E-Cigarettes
« Reply #4 on: May 20, 2014, 04:03 pm »
I find it ironic that we are okay with haze and fog in a show, but freak out about an e-cig.

Still, I think it would be rude to bring your own personal fog machine into a performance.
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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

KMC

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Re: AUDIENCES: E-Cigarettes
« Reply #5 on: May 20, 2014, 04:56 pm »
I find it ironic that we are okay with haze and fog in a show, but freak out about an e-cig.

Still, I think it would be rude to bring your own personal fog machine into a performance.

Funny, I didn't even think of that, but you're right.  Propylene Glycol is the base of water-based fog/haze fluids.

Martin Pro Haze MSDS
Le Maitre Haze Fluid.

Not sure I'd be OK with vaping myself as I'm not sure inhaling anything in high concentration is good for you long term - but the "second-hand" is not a concern as we're exposed to it in much higher quantities on a regular basis in any show that incorporates haze.

Reinforcing the point that it's an etiquette issue, not a public health issue, and any associated policies should be geared from the etiquette perspective. 
« Last Edit: May 20, 2014, 05:00 pm by KMC »
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maximillionx

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Re: AUDIENCES: E-Cigarettes
« Reply #6 on: May 20, 2014, 11:02 pm »
I tried to guess based on your past posts, but no dice - are you US based?

Affirmative.

Here's the page that the FDA has posted about it, if anyone is curious: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm172906.htm

Also, upon further googling, they make marijuana-fueled e-cigs now, so this brings up an additional aspect to the conversation.

I agree with what's been said so far.  Since there really is no concrete decision by any legitimate organization on what the health effects of e-cigs are, we have to treat it as an etiquette issue.

Also, for all you NYC folks out there, e-cigs are banned under the 2002 "Smoke Free Air Act," which treats them as if they were regular ole cigarettes.

BayAreaSM

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Re: AUDIENCES: E-Cigarettes
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2014, 01:56 am »
I recently had several instances of e-cigs/vaping at my ballet company. While an individual company can create their own policies, local bans are still in process. I was asked to help write up a company policy regarding e-cigs, after I walked into the break room of our studios and noticed a huge cloud of "smoke." I had to do a fair amount of searching to try to find any "back-up" material for our decision.

The main issue with the vaporizers is that they are flavored (strawberry, bubble gum, etc), brightly colored and indirectly marketed to children. A study was done in the SF Bay and it was found that 60% of vaporizer users in middle school had never smoked an actual cigarette. (And the total count of middle school users was 160k in SF.) And yes, they can contain capsules with hash oil in them, which is why so many parents are up-in-arms about them. Our ballet building also houses our school of over 350 students, so that our was company's reasoning for banning vaping in the building. We don't need for it to look cool to young impressionable minds, just because the professional dancers are doing it inside.

Shortly after our ban, we had a stager come in from Europe. I was shocked when I walked into the studio on a break and she was using her vaporizer. HR spoke with her about the ban for the company, and requested that she please vape outside. She did accommodate, at least when she was being watched.

There haven't been enough tests done on the long-term effects of these vaporizers, and while someone may have chosen to inhale that into their body, I don't want to have it in my body. I will say that the smoke/vapor from them does hang in the air, and you can walk through it and inhale it.

On Matthew's comment - I recently called Twyla Tharp's In the Upper Room - which is a 39 minute ballet performed in a giant block of haze. The entire stage is filled, and of course, the backstage, and when the curtain goes out - most of the audience. No, I was not a fan of sitting backstage inhaling all of this haze for more than 1 hour, but I was actually more upset when an Artistic Staff member came up to me between cues and blew his scented vaporizer smoke in my face. He said he was "helping with the atmosphere." He was doing it to be funny, but it upset me - as here was a leader of my company vaporizing inside the theater. Not the best role model.

I will say, it should come down to common courtesy. Granted, food isn't illegal, but many theatres post notices that say you can't bring food or drink into the theater. We also say that photos and videos are not permitted. We also ask people to silence their cellphones. If a theater says "no smoking" that should also include "no vaping, no e-cigs." For those blue tips that light up, it can be distracting to audience members as well as performers. And anyone who sees a cloud of smoke puff up - there are psychosomatic reactions (like coughing), or someone could yell "fire!" - because people don't know what it is.

It really should be a matter of common sense, but I feel that anyone who is smoking anything while inside a theater should be asked to stop.



On_Headset

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Re: AUDIENCES: E-Cigarettes
« Reply #8 on: Jun 03, 2014, 10:41 pm »
So two things:

1. Any policy that bans cigarettes but not e-cigarettes will be impossible for FoH to enforce without sacrificing customer service. (One can't always tell from a distance whether something's an e-cig or a "real" cig. A blanket ban is very easy to enforce; a ban that hinges upon investigation and interaction with the patron before determining whether or not the practice is allowed is going to be a customer-service nightmare.)

2. Yes, they still smell. And, yes, they still put things into the air to which other patrons may be allergic. My jurisdiction requires a tacit ban for the latter reason alone.