Welsh pub landlord puts new twist on smoking in the snug

A pub landlord in Wales has re-invented the smoking jacket, giving it a modern twist on the version worn by the great sleuth as he strives to allow his customers to smoke in comfort.

Guy Wallis is providing his smokers with battery-heated jackets to wear outside his 17th-century pub while they indulge in a habit that has become less socially acceptable since William Gillette portrayed Holmes in 1899.

Mr Wallis, of the Glan-yr-Afon pub in Holywell, said if they proved popular he would order in several of the Exo2 waistcoats, which cost £180 each, despite not having lost any trade since the smoking ban was introduced in Wales in April.



“They are not just for smokers, they are for everybody,” said Mr Wallis.

“Pubs in this area have not done that much [to accommodate smokers]. Some have just put a bucket of sand outside with an umbrella in it.”

Last night Mark Hastings, of the British Beer and Pub Association, said there were few examples of as innovative an approach to keeping smokers happy as the modern smoking jacket, which these days is rarely seen on anyone other than Hugh Hefner.