Pharmacies tip boom, no butts

By Shaun Inguanzo
DANDENONG pharmacies are tipping a surge in nicotine patch sales after tough new smoking bans came into force in clubs and pubs at the weekend.
But a local tobacconist has brushed aside suggestions that people will quit smoking and turn to nicotine patches now pubs and clubs are smoke free.
Dandenong’s Chemist Warehouse and Quit Victoria have each said this week that smoking bans introduced on 1 July could lead to smokers kicking the habit and turning to anti-smoking therapies including patches.
Chemist Warehouse pharmacy manager Elie Rotstein said his pharmacy would recommend a combination of quitting products to ensure a greater chance of success.
“The giving up of smoking is often attempted several times before success is reached,” he said.
“We are hoping from a health benefit point of view to see increased sales.
“As for a lot of the old time smokers who sit in the bar have half a dozen cigarettes and a couple of pots, one wonders what they going to be doing if they haven’t given up after all these years.”
The pharmacist’s comments come as clubs and pubs, such as the Dandenong Hotel, were scurrying to finish building outdoor areas to cater for smokers who aren’t willing to give cigarettes the flick.
Dandenong Hotel manager Marc Mifsud said the bans had received a mixed response from customers.
“It has been mixed and certainly the argument for it is that it is a cleaner environment,” he said.
“But the other side is that smokers are not rapt about having to go outside. That’s why we are looking to cater for people (with new outdoor areas).”
The hotel is building two heated outdoor areas that are expected to open any day now.
Mr Mifsud said the bans ended a long tradition of a smoke and a beer at the local pub. “It’s a tradition but I think the initial impact on business will be small and then taper off. “It’s a matter of people getting used to the change.”
But according to the new laws, smokers could literally be left out in the cold. Legitimate outdoor smoking areas must have no roof and only 75 per cent of wall covering.
Dandy Tobacconist owner Bob Younes said he was a smoker and could not stand the cold, or the intense heat of outdoor heaters.
He added that people had often come into the shop telling him they were going to quit smoking but kept returning for more cigarettes.
Mr Younes said it was government policy – not tobacconists – at fault, with a hypocritical view on smoking.
“Governments do their own thing and take a lot of tax from cigarette sales, but then say they want people to give up,” Mr Younes said.
“If the government really wants to do something to stop smoking, they should ban cigarettes in Australia.”
Quit Victoria’s acting director Suzie Stillman welcomed the bans and said they had failed to affect the pub culture in other countries, including Ireland and New York.