European backpackers flock to Sydney to save money on ciggies

Thousands of smoke-starved European backpackers have this week converged on Sydney to cop a lungful for free. 

With the entire surrounding area on fire, Sydney has spent several weeks under a dangerously heavy blanket of smoke. That’s awful for the millions of people who live there, but great news for all those broke European baccy-heads who’ve barely been able to scrape together enough for a pack a week since moving to Australia. 

Struggling smokers like Jean from Lille are thrilled. Jean and his motley crew of fellow working-holiday backpackers turned their shag-van around and drove straight back to Sydney after seeing the news and realising they could get their smoke hit for free instead of paying like $40 for a pack of durries. 

“The air here reminds me of my childhood bedroom,” said Jean, wistfully. 

“It does strike me as ironic that the country with the world’s strictest anti-smoking laws doesn’t seem to care that it’s literally burning. Scott Morrison might want to do something about these fires sometime soon…”