The last place you can smoke indoors in the UK

[JohnS]

The last place you can smoke indoors in the UK

With more stringent smoking bans on the horizon for Sir Keir Starmer’s government, London’s cigar mile remains a bastion of a bygone era

A cigar at JJ Fox in central London - Christopher Pledger for The Telegraph

Story by Oliver Wood

Step over the threshold at James J Fox’s and you’ve ventured back in time. Once the haunt of Oscar Wilde and Winston Churchill, this central London institution is steeped in tradition – not to mention smoke.

Here in the heart of the capital’s ‘cigar mile’ – an area that is to cured, thickly rolled tobacco what Savile Row is to suits – the sense of history is almost palpable. Churchill’s very own armchair, replete with a stash of his old cigars and now somewhat tatty from years of overuse by customers, sits empty in the shop’s basement, seemingly waiting for his return.

Sir Winston Churchill’s chair remains in the smoking room at JJ Fox - JJ Fox

Upstairs, meanwhile, business is booming. The shop has become something of a magnet for tourists. Almost every day at nine o’clock sharp, guided groups of 10 or more visitors arrive, keen to observe at first hand the honouring of hallowed rituals such as the hoisting of the awning and polishing of the brass. For most who come here, however, JJ Fox’s is less a museum than a refuge, somewhere to enjoy a pastime that is no longer allowed in most public places, 

“It’s primarily about the cigars for me. A place to enjoy a stick or two,” says Mark, who is relaxing with a cigar in the upstairs lounge, the oldest of its kind in the area. “I used to smoke cigarettes. But cigarettes are an activity. They’re something you do with your hands. Cigars are more cerebral. It’s much more like thinking, like allowing your thoughts to wander.”

‘Cigars are more cerebral’: smokers at JJ Fox - Christopher Pledger for The Telegraph

Places such as JJ Fox’s haven’t endured without a fight. It has survived against a fierce backdrop of anti-smoking legislation that has steadily ramped up in recent decades. The 2007 indoor smoking ban instantly halted smoking in any public premises in the country, and now Sir Keir Starmer’s government appears to have its sights set on outlawing smoking outdoors too, including in pub gardens, parks and sports stadiums.

But a special exemption remains in place that allows cigar shop customers to smoke onsite. Traditionally, smokers sampled the produce on offer before committing to an entire box and something of that has persisted to this day, enabling a loyal tribe of smokers to continue enjoying their tobacco in quiet, dedicated spaces.

It’s a niche that has been filled by scores of cigar lounges in the capital alone. Running all the way from Teddington in the west to Spitalfields in the east, they form a network of hangouts where smoking is not just permitted, but encouraged.

Aficionados say there’s nowhere better than the ‘cigar mile’ itself though, stretching along St. James Street, just half a mile from Buckingham Palace. “These are special places, maybe even unique to this city,” says Mark.

A selection of cigar at JJ Fox – still safe from more stringent smoking bans - Christopher Pledger for The Telegraph

Unlike in some cities, London’s cigar lounges practise a democratic open-door policy. As a result, they attract a mixed clientele, from cab drivers and postmen to business leaders and politicians.

“For me, there’s nothing more quintessentially London than smoking a cigar in a place like this. I can’t think of anywhere else you’d find such a diverse mix of people, all in the same place,” says Mark.

“I go to lots of cigar lounges in London, but St James Street is cigars. If the government did ever get rid of these places, they’d tear the heart right out of it.”

While the area may be the spiritual home of cigars, other parts of the capital appear to be making inroads in the industry too.

Over in Knightsbridge, where the genteel customers of St. James’ are replaced by more international consumers, cigar lounges are experiencing something of a resurgence. A number have opened in the area in recent years, some of which have attached themselves to opulent hotels.

One of JJ Fox’s cigar sommeliers browses their supplies - Christopher Pledger for the Telegraph

“Whereas cigar lounges in the past used to be separate from our trade, these days, our guests expect them as standard,” says a manager at the Bvlgari. “For any 5-star hotel not to have a cigar lounge these days, would be like not having a restaurant, or a bar.”

Even the department stores are getting in on the act, incorporating cigar lounges into areas that once exclusively sold perfume, lending further credence to the recent rebranding, amongst cigar enthusiasts, of Brompton Road as ‘cigar mile two’.

Both Selfridges and Harrods now sell cigars, with Harrods going one step further by allowing its customers to smoke them onsite. Deep in its basement, where phone reception is thin, an array of smokers can be found blazing away in private.

On a regular weekday lunchtime, the lounge is already filling up with a steady procession of customers ferrying their drinks from the nearby bar before unwrapping their cigar of choice – and lighting up, of course.

Craig, whose wife is busy trawling through the store’s upper precincts, explains the appeal of the habit as he draws on a recently cut stick.

“It’s all about the camaraderie for me,” he says. “Don’t get me wrong, I love cigars for what they are. But for me it’s about the atmosphere: these are some of the last places where we can come to get away from it, to enjoy the company of people from all walks of life. People think of cigars as an elitist thing but, actually, you get people in all lines of work here – from City professionals to blue collar construction workers.”

‘It’s about the atmosphere... the camaraderie’: smokers enjoy the James J. Fox lounge - Christopher Pledger for the Telegraph

It’s a view that seems to resonate with the other patrons inside the lounge. 

Many of the Chinese customers here, whose country is now one of the largest emerging markets for cigars, are equally adamant that cigars are democratic – not just the preserve of stuffy dons and the monied elite. “You get lots of people smoking them back home,” one of the visitor’s says. “It’s not just businessmen or older people anymore”.

But as their popularity grows, do the businesses worry increasing awareness will attract unwanted attention from lawmakers? Could the loophole that allows them to operate come under the spotlight of Parliament?

Harrods’ discreet in-house cigar sommelier, a well-dressed Cuban gentleman, does not appear overly concerned. “I think in total the number of cigar smokers must be less than one per cent [of the population],” he says. “We’re not even anywhere close to the number of people who vape, which must already be pretty low. I think we’re probably off the radar for anyone who might want to crack down.” 

Smoking outdoors might yet be banned. But the cigar lounges, it seems, are here to stay. You can bet Churchill’s chair won’t be empty for long.

Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/09/17/last-place-smoke-cigars-uk/

[JohnnyO]

Funny how they don't mention 6 Cavendish. John