Smoking ban created a new pariah class

We all remember the introduction of the ban on smoking in public buildings - a ban that pretty much killed the pub trade as we knew it.

In the colder months, smokers suddenly had to huddle outside the pub, the luckier ones being given a canopy of some kind with barelyeffectual space heaters. A new pariah class was created almost overnight.

Shop and office workers could - and still can - be seen huddling in doorways in order to feed their addiction. This caused a significant growth in the numbers of fag ends dropped in the street, bringing smiles to the faces of members of the litter police. Said litter police make virtually no difference to the dog-end count - I recently totted up something over 80 on just one side North Street from Boots to the KM arch.

The bandstand is another popular spot for the jettisoning of dogends.

So, the medics told us that vaping (the use of electronic ‘cigarettes’) was a jolly good idea for those who wished to give up the tobacco habit. At first the electronic jobs vaguely resembled cigarettes in terms of size and amount of exhaled material, their screw-in tips providing a limited range of flavours and none of the carcinogens associated with tobacco. Unfortunately, the bigger is better brigade began to take over and it sometimes seemed as though the high street was on fire, with immense clouds of strange-smelling steam restricting visibility.

Now, many places forbid vaping. At first, I thought this was somewhat draconian but, once the things that throw out more ‘smoke’ than Battersea Power Station ever did took over, the rule became more sensible. It becomes clear that for now at least, vapingisheretostay-orsoMr Abercrombie must believe, since he has spent £200,000 establishing a new vape shop par excellence.

Users of Chart Road are probably not going to be surprised that the promised improvements to the road will not be happening in the immediate future, despite promises from KCC and developers. In readiness for the road widening, scores of mature trees were felled but, as might be expected where vast sums are concerned, nobody is keen to act.