"Non-Smokers Join 'Cigarette Time': Office Workers Flock to Virtual Smoking Room"

"Online Damta" Site for Non-Smokers Gains Popularity
Offers a Virtual Break Lasting About Three Minutes

Smoking citizens. Photo is unrelated to the specific article content. Photo by Yonhap News.

Amid ongoing debates about fairness surrounding "Cigarette Time" (Damta) breaks in the workplace, a new "Online Damta" service designed for non-smokers has recently attracted attention. This service provides a "virtual break" lasting just over three minutes without actual smoking, and it is rapidly gaining popularity on social networking services (SNS). Analysts note that this phenomenon goes beyond simple amusement, reflecting both the way modern office workers take breaks and their desire for empathy.

"Online Damta," which was released last November by a developer via LinkedIn, is a simple web service that can be accessed without any registration process. In the center of the screen, an image of a burning cigarette is displayed, and users can click to "burn" it. Users can also choose virtual environments such as "company rooftop," "baseball stadium," or "outer space," and features such as ASMR and chat are also available. The time it takes for a cigarette to burn is about three minutes, deliberately designed to resemble the duration of an actual smoking break.

Online Tobacco Time (Dambae Time) Site for Non-Smokers. Screenshot of Online Tobacco Time Screen

The service has recently spread via SNS, resulting in a sharp increase in users. According to the developer, the number of daily visitors is around 20,000, with several hundred concurrent users at any given time. In the chat window, real-time messages such as "I want to go home" and "It's meetings all day" reveal the workplace and academic stress users are experiencing.

An Alternative Born of the 'Damta' Debate

The spread of this service is rooted in the long-standing debate over Damta breaks at work. Non-smokers have consistently raised concerns about fairness, pointing to the time smokers spend away from their desks during working hours.

The Online Damta appears to function as an alternative for these frustrations. By offering the sensation of stepping away for a moment without actual smoking, it provides non-smokers with a break that feels almost like an "official" rest period.

Loose Solidarity Fostered by Anonymity

Another feature of Online Damta is its anonymous chat function. Without revealing their identities, users can share their workplace and daily fatigue. This way of connecting comfortably while finding emotional relief reflects the digital usage patterns of Millennials & Gen Z, who prefer light and immediate communication.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.