Cigar smokers roll with it

Unless you've been living under a self-imposed news blackout and don't get out much, you'll probably know that a smoking ban came into force across England on Sunday. Much has been written and said about the difficulties smokers will face, the benefits to the health of the nation and the potential boom in business for people selling patio heaters. Smokers have rarely been under greater pressure to give up. 
But for cigar smokers still determined to light up, there is some hope. Thanks to a little known exemption, retailers for whom 50 per cent of their turnover comes from specialist tobacco products will be allowed to let customers "sample" their products in-store.

In theory, this exemption means there will be 80 or so shops that will be able to allow smoking in-store. But many shops have either never allowed sampling of products or are too small to have a seating area, and it's likely that only about 30 or so shops will pursue it.

For Robert Emery, director of James J Fox and Robert Lewis, it's an exemption that will make all the difference. Owned by James J Fox, an Irish company with a long-established shop on Dublin's Grafton Street, Emery says the company has learnt from its experiences there.  

As we enjoy a couple of Montecristo Robusto Edición Limitada 2006, Emery explains how the ban affected the Dublin store: "It was devastating. It is a very traditional cigar shop and overnight smoking was banned in the shop—there was no exemption. We suffered badly because people couldn't smoke in the shop."

This was part of the motivation for making sure that the same didn't happen here and thanks to some well organised lobbying, the exemption was granted by the Department of Health. But it comes with some strict limitations. No cigarettes are allowed and, says Emery, it's important the place doesn't just "become a smoking den".

To pave the way for the new arrangement, Emery has overseen a substantial re-fit of the store, including building a modern new walk-in, humidified cigar room (much better than the old display cabinets) and moving the shop's museum downstairs. As probably the oldest cigar shop in the world, the museum boasts a fascinating collection of cigar memorabilia, from an impressive line-up of old cigars to reminders of famous old customers, most notably that famous cigar lover, Sir Winston Churchill.

The challenge for Emery was to tap into this heritage, while at the same time creating a new store environment that felt modern and where customers would be comfortable sitting to enjoy a sample cigar.
Peversely, Emery admits that despite the total ban in Ireland, the Dublin store has in the end recovered from the initial shock and to some extent has benefited from the ban.

"It's gone full circle now. Because there are so few places you can buy cigars the specialist retailers have become even more special and people tend to gravitate toward them. Trade is very good. They benefit because they get customers who would normally have bought cigars in a club or restaurant, coming to the shop to buy cigars."