London’s luxury cigar scene is under threat

[El Presidente]

 

 ‘It will be catastrophic, because it will essentially make a product illegal without making it illegal, kill off small businesses and affect the reputation of England [as a cigar centre],’ says Jemma Freeman, the chair of Hunters & Frankau (est. 1790), the UK’s exclusive distributor for Havana cigars.

https://spearswms.com/luxury/london-luxury-cigar-tobacco-and-vapes-bill/

[ha_banos]

Yeah it's creeping closer. Those swanky places in the article are way out of my reach. But I'm hoping the outdoor terraces and gardens like the Melody and pubs for that matter will remain. Bye bye sampling in bad weather though. I'll have to build a hut!

But who knows?

 

[RichUK]

It does seem to be creeping ever closer, sadly.

[El Presidente]

Outdoor terraces and gardens should be fine this round. I think everyone is waiting on news of a "carve out" for the lounges. I doubt many will survive without one given such a high % of sales are overseas travellers to London. 

Lot's of good people in UK cigar world. Hoping this gets sorted suitably and quickly. 

[Dlowil]

I’m sure we’ll all in agreement that lumping premium cigars with vaping is wrong. The thing that kills me is the grouping (premium cigar and flavored tobacco) has happened in the US and states are starting to repeal it. The other concerning thing is the precedence this sets for other industries (e.g. wine tastings). I’m all for protecting children. This is a classic government overreach with the inclusion of premium cigars…end of rant.

[Stevieboy]

3 hours ago, ha_banos said:

Yeah it's creeping closer. Those swanky places in the article are way out of my reach. But I'm hoping the outdoor terraces and gardens like the Melody and pubs for that matter will remain. Bye bye sampling in bad weather though. I'll have to build a hut!
But who knows?

There hasn't been a sniff of being able to smoke a cigar inside in Scotland since about 2009. I've always been amazed how England has allowed it. Long may it continue though. I know all the places in Edinburgh but there are only a few left these days. So difficult. Outside only of course. Imagine smoking anything in January at -5C...Sheesh!

I went to Copenhagen a few years ago. Completely set up for outside smoking. Lots of heaters, blankets and in one place there was even fur onesies to climb into.