Snuff out memory of smoking ban

8:18am Saturday 4th August 2007

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LANDLORDS are offering snuff in their pubs as an alternative to smoking.

The jury is still out on whether it will catch on as a way to get round the new smoking ban.

At the Terrace Tavern, The Terrace, Gravesend, signs have been put up, saying Fight the Ban, to let people know of the new product on offer via a vending machine.

Barman Shaun Welch, 34, said: "People saw the signs on the bar and asked about it. Quite a few then had a go."

However, Terrace Tavern landlady Michelle Taylor, 33, thinks it might just be a novelty.

Pip Nevell, the landlord of the New Inn, Milton Road, Gravesend, also stocks snuff in a vending machine.

The 46-year-old said: "We wanted it to provide an alternative to people who didn't want to go outside and smoke. We haven't been pushing it.

"When it comes to winter, people won't want to go outside so we'll see then if it catches on."

Glenn Firmin, an area manager for Snuff Vending, which supplies the powdered tobacco to vending machines around north Kent, said: "It's selling quite well. It's all word of mouth at the moment.

"When it starts catching on, I think it will go through the roof. We supply to about 20 to 30 pubs in Dartford and Gravesham at the moment."

Snuff in vending machines usually costs around £3.50 for two small tubs.

Other places in Gravesend where snuff is available include The Campbell Arms, Campbell Road; The Ship and Lobster, Mark Lane, and the H20 nightclub in High Street.

Dartford Licensed Victuallers' Association chairman Bill Carter said: "I have heard about snuff being sold in pubs, but I don't know any which are currently stocking it."

Mr Nevell, in his capacity as chairman of the Gravesham Licensed Victuallers' Association, says he is not advocating the sale of snuff to other landlords but he wanted it as an option in his public house.

WHAT IS SNUFF?

• SNUFF is powdered tobacco which is inhaled through the nostrils.

• It contains nicotine and is therefore addictive and a stimulant which could aggravate heart conditions.

• Snuff can be bought in different flavours such as spearmint, cinnamon, raspberry, orange and menthol.

• By tradition since the 18th Century, snuff is provided for members and officers of the House of Commons, at the entrance to the chamber.