Vapour Spots?

Last month, I wrote about my submission to the Smoke Spots website which is going to win me a trip to Miami. The promotion ended on 30th September so I expect they're just sorting out my tickets as I write.

Meanwhile, the site is doing a great job of highlighting places which feature decent smoking areas, but you may remember that I also submitted a helpful suggestion.

As an aside, I've dropped the site an e-mail to see if they'd consider adding a tag for 'spots' which are vape-friendly indoors too. If they're forward thinking, I hope they will consider it. I'll relay their reply if I get one.

And reply they have done.

Hi Dick_Puddlecote  

Thanks for submitting a spot and sending your question about vaping through to us. 

Our community’s feedback is key to understanding what is important to smokers and from this we’re constantly looking at ways to improve the site. Vape-friendly e-cig spots is a great idea and something which has been suggested in our forum too. We recognise the growing importance of this area and therefore we’re looking into how best to provide this facility for smokers, either as part of the current Smoke Spots site or as an alternative site. 

Kind regards
The Smoke Spots Team

The "growing importance" bit couldn't be more relevant after the EU ruling this week, so perhaps vapers might want to give them some friendly encouragement to hurry it along via the contact details here.

The idea of vape-friendly pubs is something I feel is also a good indicator of those which don't look down their noses at smokers or vapers alike. It's noteworthy that the winner of this year's Best Smoking Area prize at the Great British Pub Awards also boasts on its website that it sells a range of e-cigs which they are happy for customers to use indoors ... bloody handy in the bitter winter wilds of Fraserburgh, I expect.

It was also pointed out to me by long time fellow jewel robber westcoast2 on the day of the Stony Stratford event back in 2011 that the pub which kindly agreed to host our protest against Herr Bartlett's outdoor smoking ban - The Vaults at the Bull Hotel - proudly sported a "vape-friendly bar" sticker on one of the street facing windows.

If a pub doesn't welcome vapers, it doesn't like smokers and vice versa, so I hope Smoke Spots take up the complementary Vape Spots suggestion with gusto. It would be good to send a message that, when choosing pubs, if they're not on either list, we ain't coming in.