Are "trigger warnings" about on stage smoking a 'thing' now?

I'm just going to assume that's parody please.

I'm sure people will rush in here to tell me how necessary trigger warnings are and all that jazz. But honestly, if a trigger warning is needed for smoking then I do worry how people manage walking down the street.

I was watching a crime drama and had trigger warning on scenes and talk of crimes, which seems stating the bleeding obvious. It just feels some warnings have gone to the other extreme now

This might be more a post for the General forum, but I wonder if this statement is there as the production is marketed heavily towards school where pupils are studying the play for their GCSEs?

We'll probably end up with trigger warnings for subject matter, song lyrics, casting, costumes, posters, props, sound effects, the person sat next to you, and the state of the toilets.

"The spoon's under the lid"
"Why didn't you warn me?"

I’ve seen smoking listed alongside haze effects and flashing lights warnings (for example in the play ‘Spike’ UK Tour they listed ‘smoking of an e-cigarette’). I don’t think it’s a content warning and more a clarification so people don’t complain because it’s illegal to smoke indoors (idk who would but there are strange people in the world)

I’m not sure of the exact reasoning but it’s interesting it’s become a common thing to list (I’d love to know why, is it a legal thing they need to declare?)

I will always defend trigger warnings on the door for shows, especially ones that might I not be obvious going in (another ‘Spike’ example is a warning for attempted suicide, because the show is mainly lighthearted people might not know about his mental health struggles going in). Same goes for when there’s sudden guns/explosions/bangs in plays, for people with PTSD.

Content warnings for major triggers should be normalised across all theatre. Sometimes a production might go a bit over the top or list something you wouldn’t normally see listed but if it helps one person not have a nasty theatre experience then it’s worth it. (Although I do agree the Inspector Calls warning is a bit over explained!)

I have seen outside the Minerva, Chichester, where the audience sits quite close to the stage, notices that there is smoking in the play but the actors will be smoking herbal cigarettes. I suppose this is in case anyone is worried about the effects of passive smoking.

I’m sure some people must be adversely affected by dry ice but that seems to be used massively without warnings. Often it’s puttering out over the edge of the stage and into the orchestra pit and front rows.

Actors are allowed to smoke real cigarettes on stage and often do. 

I kind of get it but, dear God, we're all going to end up incapable of anything if this nonsense keeps going. I mean, I might be offended/traumatised by the sight of (other) bald guys on stage. We're in danger of becoming that ridiculous.

Yeah it's funny how the Venn diagram of people who accuse others of being snowflakes and people who are offended by everything is a circle

I think that’s getting a little reductive to say a content warning for stuff like gunshots and suicide is pandering to ‘snowflakes’. When you start saying that you’re worried about these things happening ‘one day’ then I think you’ve dreamt up some blue-haired strawmen.

But at the end of the day, warnings about serious topics aren’t ‘nonsense’, especially for those suffering from PTSD, or who might get triggered by suicide or other serious topics. Theatre isn’t meant to induce panic attacks, even serious plays (except maybe that 1984 play on Broadway…)

I like trigger warnings for loud noises and strobe lights (I’m autistic), but am fine if I know to expect them. So I usually read the trigger notices and occasionally I’ve contacted a theatre for more info.

Most of the warnings aren’t relevant to me, but what’s the problem if it means someone is aware in advance if something might be an issue for them? I think when people see this as snowflakeish, maybe they’re seeing 5 triggers and thinking some super-sensitive person is going to tick all of those and just needs to grow a backbone? There will always be a few drama queens (maybe they are drawn to theatre?), but in most cases its just normal people (even your own friends and family) who may have one thing from their past or a medical reason why something might be uncomfortable or upsetting. Advance warning helps, so surely it’s good if we can do that. If you’re not likely to be triggered by anything or prefer a ‘pull yourself together’ approach, then there’s no need to even look at the warnings.

With smoking I suspect it’s more because we just don’t see people smoking in indoor public places, so maybe it forestalls criticism or queries about it. More plays seem to be using unlit cigarettes now, so perhaps that will be the norm in a few years and some will see it as caving in to oversensitivity.