Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of stuff about which members of the royal family are “secret smokers.” It’s rare (but not unheard of) to see photos of a prince or princess with a cigarette, but it has happened and I do tend to keep my eye on it. Like, I believe the Duchess of Cambridge is still a secret smoker. She smoked Camels when she was just a royal girlfriend, and I suspect that she stopped smoking for her pregnancies (just barely), then took it up again in between babies. It would explain the state of her skin. William and Harry were both smokers when they were in their late teens and early 20s, although I think William quit a while back and my guess is that Harry has quit or he cut back a lot. Other smokers in the royal family? I’ve heard that Camilla was a heavy smoker for decades and she finally quit several years after she married Charles (Charles hates cigarette smoke). Why all of this talk of smoking royals? Because there’s now a ban on smoking across the board in all royal residences.
Quite what dedicated smoker Prince Harry will do when he wants to have a crafty one is anyone’s guess. Buckingham Palace is rolling out a strict no-smoking policy at royal residences, including Kensington Palace, where Harry lives. Surprising as it may seem in these health conscious times, Buckingham Palace itself was until only a few weeks ago happy to permit smoking in designated areas. These included an open-air yard area near the Buckingham Palace Road entrance to the building, where staff take deliveries. However the area is also bordered by royal offices and smoke would drift up and into the palace.
Now, after consultation with staff, officials in the Master of the Household’s department have decided to stamp out cigarettes for good. There is no indication of how many employees will be affected by the clampdown but courtiers are not forcing them to go ‘cold turkey’. As a ‘transitional measure’, the smoking of e-cigarettes will be permitted in those designated areas for a further six months, until May 21 next year.
From May 22, however, Royal Household sites will be strictly smoke free. The policy covers Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, St James’s Palace, Kensington Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Clarence House has been a smoking-free zone for many years because Prince Charles, whose home it is, hates the ‘filthy’ habit. One of the more high-profile royal smokers was the Duchess of Cornwall, who was said to have had a solid ten-a-day habit even though Charles loathed it. According to friends, she finally gave up some 15 years or so ago with the help of an alternative health practitioner after developing rhinitis, an allergy that causes irritation in the eyes, nose and throat.
Former nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke’s constant smoking (she used to clamp a cigarette between her teeth even as she sped down the ski slopes) so annoyed Charles that he would banish her to the roof of St James’s Palace to light up. And Prince Harry has smoked since his early teens – a habit he picked up while a pupil at Eton. It is said that the 32-year-old prince can easily get through a packet of Marlborough Lights a day.
Buckingham Palace told the Daily Mail: ‘Royal Household sites have been smoke free premises since November 21, 2016.’
Officials indicated that the Queen’s household already complied with the Health Act 2006, which prevents smoking in enclosed public spaces, including workplaces. But following staff consultations it was decided to extended the ban to even long-standing designated smoking areas.
Harry might yet find himself an exception to the rule – apparently the policy does not cover private apartments and some self-contained staff accommodation, where others cannot be affected by their smoking.
The Daily Mail seems to say outright that Harry is still a heavy smoker! I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s been years since I’ve seen any photos of him with a cig. He keeps it quiet, I’ll give him that. And considering Harry doesn’t live in Kensington Palace properly – as in, he lives in a “cottage” on the palace grounds – he might not have to comply. But the people living in Apartment 1 of Kensington Palace will definitely have to comply. So… Kate doesn’t get to smoke in Apt. 1 anymore, if she ever did smoke there.
I do feel a little bit sorry for those dedicated royal workers who just need five minutes to themselves every so often and they go out to smoke. Apparently, that’s not allowed now either.
Photos courtesy of PCN, Fame/Flynet and WENN.
Kate has horrible skin.
I think it’s fairer to say she isn’t taking care of her skin as well as she could. Also, wearing the same makeup ‘look’ in your 30s that you adopted in your teens, is never flattering.
We don’t know if she takes care of her skin, the way your skin ages is also often a genetic disposition. I also have quite a few wrinkles although I’m a few months shy of 30. But it runs in my family, we all have thin, sensitive skin and are prone to nasolabial folds and forhead wrinkles. I have never smoked in my life, I have never tanned (I’m naturally very pale and get burnt easily, so I avoid the sun as best as possible), I sleep enough and drink over 8 glasses water a day. I also use high quality skincare products, wear SPF, always take off my makeup, do a facial now and then and still… it is what it is.
But hey, I guess it’s easier to say “it’s your fault, you don’t take enough care of your skin” instead of just accepting that some people don’t have as much luck with their skin. On the other hand I never had a problem with weight as some of my friends have, who are prone to gaine easily. Everyone has different struggles and it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s their “fault”.
CarmenCarmen: So true. Genetics determine so much. And people shame others or take credit for things they didn’t have anything to do with.
That said, I can easily believe that Kate is a longtime smoker since she seems so obsessed with being and staying skinny and smoking is a known appetite suppressant. As long as she didn’t smoke during her pregnancies or around her kids I don’t think it’s anyone’s business. It’s rumored that Princess Marie of Denmark smoked heavily during both of her pregnancies and if true that is horrible and despicable.
She doesn’t smile enough. Pickle Puss. Hate to compare her to her deceased mother-in-law….well I can’t because there is no comparison. But Kate does Kate and her kids are cute.
Do you smile all day long? Consider how often and how many times per day she is photographed. Do you get photographed that often? There would very likely be many photos in which one would be pensive or not smiling because one has daily concerns and problems like everyone else. Ripping on her has become an asinine national pass-time in the UK and people here just jump on the bandwagon. Bloody sheep.
I don’t care what she looks like. I just want her to do the work for which she is paid handsomely, with money belonging to the British people.
@Tina
Are you British?
@ Em: Yes.
@gigi: they had a story line in the crown in which the queen had to be treated because she smiled too much. Smiling is part of the job description. Kate doesn’t do nearly as many appearances as the queen so she should be able to handle smiling during them.
Kate destroyed her looks with smoking, partying and not staying out of the sun – just like her sister.
Wow, I guess you are really beautiful and perfect. Not me. Not Kate.
I don’t get all the Kate hate on this site. I don’t think she looks that terrible or is a terrible person. I actually like some of her clothes. And her sausage curls lol.
“Destroyed her looks” is a bit, um, extreme. Her skin just looks older than it should, but she’s young enough where she could help it along a bit. She can’t undo all of the damage, but ifshe stops smoking and uses sunblock it would help.
She’s too skinny, though, and that doesn’t help as you get older. I’m 64, so I know these things 😀
@ Tris
Trust me, non-smokers will always age less than smokers. Same for drinkers, suntanning and excessive dieting.
Wrong. People think I’m 20; I’m 39. I’ve been drinking and smoking heavily since my late teens. Yet I don’t have any wrinkles nor droopy skin.
And is looks all that is important? How about living while you’re alive? Life is short you know, yunkai…
Here, here! This may well be any one of our last days. Chill and enjoy!
ofcourse harry smokes and drowns in drinks but when he is working he is 100% professional so other stories are kept on the down low…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3242160/Even-princes-outside-smoke-New-photos-emerge-showing-Harry-enjoying-crafty-cigarette-friends-celebrating-birthday-Chelsea-pub.html
Why do they call them crafty cigarettes? I thought they were talking about a joint.
He does smoke weed – or at least he certainly used to. Was the first thing that endeared me to him!
I think by crafty they mean “sneaky”.
It reminds me of an old UK boyfriend who used to call a quick lunchtime pint a “swifty”, haha.
Considering that King George VI, a heavy smoker and Elizabeth’s father, died in his 50s of lung cancer, this seems long overdue.
Update: actual cause of death coronary thrombosis but his lung cancer was worsening and smoking is also associated with heart disease.
Smoking didn’t help Margaret much, either.
As did Queen Mary (May of Teck); she, too, died of lung cancer.
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/forum/general-royalty-discussion/smokers/
Exactly. There’s nothing good to say about smoking. I was soooo happy when smoking was finally banned in workplaces in the early 1990’s (I think). I always had bronchitis twice a year without fail. So much whining and crying from smokers but they seem to have survived. I’m Canadian and not many places left for smokers to indulge.
What are the rules in England in public places like restaurants and pubs?
All banned, no smoking in a public work place building, most places have a designated space outside for smoking if needed.
I never understand why vape pens get banned. The purpose of a ban is to make things ok for other people, not to prevent A N Other from smoking. If someone wants to vape and vaping doesn’t hurt other people, what is the problem?
I hate vaping. It’s just as foul as smoking esp when u get a facefullnfrom inconsiderate twits who like to make a show of puffing away on one. They r the posers latest toy.
But it’s not going to give you lung cancer or heart disease, is it? Passive smoking is the justification for smoking bans.
Some people don’t like all sorts of things in venues. But you can’t go about banning everything because some people don’t like them.
Vaping is harm-free to others. No reason to ban it.
I would have loved a vape pen when I was giving up smoking. Hardest thing I’ve ever done.
I know but i still end up stinking of whatever flavour they are smoking. Its just that lack of consideration for those who don’t smoke that irritates me, esp when in an outside part of a restaurant/cafe and your food gets covered in the stuff cause the person in the table next to u starts vaping.
Good manners don’t cost anything. I know am grumpy about it but it happens a lot.
@Sixer, people vape on public transport here, because it’s not banned, unlike smoking, in restaurants and even at the cinema. And a lot of them don’t have dainty e-cigs, they have cigar-sized pens. Getting a full face blast from one of those is worse than cigarette smoke. I had to change seats at the cinema because I couldn’t even see the screen for all the vapour. It was like someone puffing on a hookah.
Vaping is not harm free to others. Second hand fumes contain a number of known carcinogens. http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/e-cigarettes-and-lung-health.html
I hate vaping. I was in Vegas 2 years ago and had to tell a man to STOP blowing vapour in my direction. I was inhaling what he was exhaling. If I wanted to inhale whatever is in it I would vape myself.
@Sixer
“But it’s not going to give you lung cancer or heart disease, is it?”
We don’t know that, vaping is new. Cigarettes were marketed as healthy in the 30s.
It’s still blowing chemicals into the faces of people who didn’t want or ask for it. Also research is showing they may cause lung disease quicker. Look up popcorn lung, it’s pretty terrifying.
I understand people who smoke weed, especially from a medical stand point because it serves a purpose, but cigarettes and smoking nicotine vapes in 2016 makes no sense to me. It serves zero purpose other than to kill you quicker.
Yes! I’ve seen people vaping in the grocery store – disgusting! Sorry, I don’t want to walk through your expelled vapor any more than I want to walk through someone’s cigarette smoke.
This times a million.
@Sixer Per Scientific American: “A small study by Wolfgang Schober of the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority and colleagues published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health in December found that vaping worsened indoor air quality, specifically by increasing the concentration of nicotine, particulate matter, PAHs and aluminum — compounds that have been linked to lung and cardiovascular disease and cancer among other health effects.” (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/e-cigs-and-second-hand-vaping/)
Sixer, e-cigs/vaping IS just as bad for you as smoking. The main component of e-cigarettes is the e-liquid contained in cartridges. To create an e-liquid, nicotine is extracted from tobacco and mixed with a base (usually propylene glycol), and may also include flavorings, colorings and other chemicals.
http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/e-cigarettes-and-lung-health.html
Just to note that I have copy-edited more than one PhD paper on vaping, for and against. I’m abreast of the comparable levels of harm and, more to the point, who is paying for the research (anti = big pharma with an interest in promoting other nicotine replacement products; pro = tobacco companies who are all bringing out vaping products).
Thanks so much for the links guys, but I do know my stuff on this one.
@Sixer The American Lung Association isn’t promoting other tobacco replacement products and they are an authorative voice on lung health. So I’ll be defering to their judgement on second hand vape fumes over the theory of PhD students.
Megan – the theses I’m talking about are social science theses, assessing what research has been done so far, funded by whom and with what aims, and what depth of reliable conclusions we can draw from patchy and small scale research in a fast-changing environment. I wouldn’t have sufficient scientific knowledge to help copy edit a hard science PhD. But it does give me the advantage of understanding as a whole what information has been gathered.
As it stands at present, research is polarised and conflicted and nothing much certain can be gleaned other than that vaping is orders of magnitude more safe than smoking actual cigarettes. Vis a vis harm done to the vaper, we can’t put it on a scale at the moment. It may be comparable to, say, a caffeine addiction or it may be much, much more.
But I’m commenting about the possibility of harm to others from “passive vaping” as it were. The air quality studies done so far put damage to air quality in room about on a par with someone squirting an aerosol deodorant in a gym changing room. This, to my mind, is not sufficient for a ban. But yes, vape pen vapour contains some unpleasant ingredients.
This whole vaping debate is full of the most ludicrous misinformation.
It’s great that you know your stuff, but it’s all iffy. Vapes are new, so new no one knows. Honestly, people shouldn’t have to be told not to smoke those things in public. People shouldn’t force others to breathe in their poor choices.
Smoke in your home or car. Same goes for Vapes and medical Marijuana. Do not put your CHOICE on others. It’s really that simple. Good on you for quitting, but Vapes should be treated the same as cigarettes and stigmatized the same way to discourage new and young smokers.
Smoking is bad, it should not be normalized or accepted for the sake of public health.
This is nonsense. Until there is an evidential base, which there isn’t currently, there is no case for lumping vapes into tobacco legislative bans. Individual establishments should make their own policy to suit their own clientele and public spaces have no business having any bans at all unless there is a public health issue, likewise with an evidential base.
People see presence of toxins but are unable to contextualise in terms of relative harm and public risk. There are more toxins associated with air and road traffic with actual evidenced public health consequences, for example.
You can’t legislate against something because some people don’t like a smell. Some people don’t like children in restaurants because they might make a noise. You don’t legislate to ban restaurants from serving children. You leave it up to the restaurant.
Personally, I don’t vape. I gave up smoking a decade and a half ago. I rarely drink. I eat healthily. I’m a veritable cup of virtue, me. But I don’t go about telling other people they can’t do stuff that I don’t like when there is no evidence that it will do me any harm.
Thank you so much, Sixer! I 100% agree.
It’s sad to see how the news outlets and others keep spinning the same research paper that has been debunked over and over, specifically the one which claims to have found high levels of carcinogens, without mentioning that the carcinogens despite repeated attempts were only found to occur with impoper use – causing the cotton with to burn, which creates a taste so foul you will instantly gag and cough, NOT INHALE and definitely not repeat.
Incognita – that study has been particularly egregiously reported. That said, there is good and reliable evidence to suggest health risks from vaping to the vaper themselves. Each vaper should do a risk assessment. ALL evidence so far DOES show that vaping is exponentially less risky than smoking tobacco however skewed the reporting has been – here in the UK the Royal College of Physicians puts it at 90%-95% safer. But it is clear that it’s not risk free and work done so far has provided evidence that more work needs to be done to accurately establish risk.
My father vapes cannabis for medical reasons and we’ve made sure he uses a dry vape machine as the potential risk mainly comes from the carrier liquids used. I would recommend every user like this does the same.
What there is NOT, is any evidence to suggest that there is a risk to others via so-called passive vaping. Nada, nilch, zip, diddly squat. Like I say, there is a higher concentration of toxins and carcinogens put into the air by cars and trains and planes than by the vapour from a vaping pen. Anybody drinking a single cup of coffee ingests more toxins and carcinogens in both quantity and concentration than by spending a week in a room with vapers. We understand that coffee isn’t harm-free but presents a tiny risk when consumed normally.
Vaping may present a health risk to the vaper themselves and we need to do more work to quantify that risk.
There is no evidence to suggest that vaping represents a public health risk to others. None.
I agree with @Sixer on this. From all accounts, vaping is exponentially less dangerous to the inhaler than smoking. Big tobacco funded studies show vaping is harmful, whereas independent studies have shown the harm to be minimal, at worst. So, I’ll take the research done by the independents as being closer to factual. However, nothing exists about 2nd hand effects, but if we’re to assume the risks to the 1st inhaler are minimum, then risk to the 2nd inhaler are less than that. I understand people don’t want to breath in anything exhaled from someone else, but I would never lump vapers in with smokers. There’s a big difference between all the chemicals and tobacco in cigarettes and the liquid nicotine in vape juice. Anyone smoking anything should be mindful about the people around them, though.
That’s two horrible pics of Cannot.
It’s amazing how old Kate (34) looks. If she would tell me she is over 40, I would believe it.
Long time coming i suppose
Oh wow, that pic of Kate at the bottom — I’m the biggest supporter of “eyebrows should be sisters, not twins”, but her brows aren’t even related! They’d totes fail the Maury paternity test
Ha, I’ve never heard that expression before. Funny. My wonky brows would fail the test, too, sadly! Although I was thinking that Kate’s brows were a nice feature compared to her permanently black-lined eyes.
Lol Esmom, I use the phrase to my convenience more than anything else 😉 My eyebrows survived the 90s but it’s still work to fill them in, so I’m happy to settle for sisters and not twins!
Something tells me Harry will ignore the smoking ban LOL
Well, let’s see, what’s missing here? Could it be…..Waity and Willy? Camilla gets damned with faint praise and Harry is the big, filthy smoker, but not a peep about W&K. Oh, right, they are too pure for this world.
I bet W&K both smoke like chimneys and there would be no way they would abide by any rules (Harry, too), but as always, they get a pass and Harry gets especially slammed.
Kate has puffed like a chimney for many many years, Pippa does too but am not sure about Carole. Smoking helps curb the appetite. You forget that this is the Fail – the Middletons on dial rag.
Wasn’t Carole chewed out (pardon the terrible pun) for chewing nicotine gum at one of Willie’s parades in the engagement period? She was probably trying to quit. Either that, or she couldn’t go that long w/out a cig 🤷🏻♀️
Really? Where is the evidence Kate is a chain smoker?
HMMM: I was thinking the same thing as I read that, Harry gets thrown under the bus again!
I have friends my age, early 20s, who smoke cigarettes, and it absolutely blows my mind. We’ve all grown up, from day one, with an abundance of evidence that it does nothing but cause harm to the body and take years off your life. And yet they still choose to take it up. I can’t wrap my head around it.
Of course it doesn’t make sense, that’s why it’s an addiction.
I’m ok with smokers having their own designated space, especially if these royal staff stay there. But as a non-smoker, I have no idea why workers like to take several smoke breaks during working hours (excluding lunchtime). I think that’s a privilege and there’s no need to pity them if they can’t smoke during these hours. Maybe you can argue non-smokers have tea breaks but some workplaces have no or only one tea break. At most, the equivalent is having coffee but I still work while having coffee. So, I don’t get smoke breaks during work.
A little factoid—for people with adhd, smoking can actually calm you down, working much like rx stimulants (ie adderall, ritalin, etc) on the nicotinic receptors in the brain, producing a relaxant type effect. It’s worth wiki-ing if you are interested in learning more. I know it works, have seen it on friends/family. Everyone is different but legal stims can have beneficial effects for people with adhd.
I have a friend who is almost 30 and she looks way older than I (35) due to smoking and tanning—-I know she moisturizes etc but the damage is already done. Her mother is 48 and looks better than her so I am unsure if it is genetic.
My friends started when we were teenagers, around 14. They were stubborn and full of a “I know better” attitude. They got hooked, and now it’s an addiction.
Both my parents were smokers and it would disgust me so much I never went near a cig. Neither did my younger siblings. My mum quit after my sister went into hysterics, shouting cancer! dying! at her. My father stopped after his heart attack, and now he vapes, which I also find disgusting. He had cancer and that didn’t make him stop.
I would never be with a smoker. I am praying I will not have any second-hand smoking consequences because I did grow up surrounded by smoke to the point I am aversed to it.
Why are they called “crafty?”
It means sneaky.
I read it as the Fail trying to cleverly indicate that they were sneaking in a “forbidden” ciggy. The Fail doesn’t do clever well, so I tend to interpret any journalistic oddity as an attempt.
Can’t believe I’m defending the Rag of All Rags but “crafty” means the same as “sneaky” in this British context. Not a journalistic oddity but an example of UK/Irish slang. Murica doesn’t have the monopoly on slang, you know!
I might get yelled at for saying this, but the extreme of not even having a designated outdoor area for smoking seems a bit over the top.
People who smoke have an addiction but it’s their life and their issue. I don’t see why they can’t have an area that is somewhat away from others, or even a rooftop deck (then smoke would go up and away). If you are a smoker it’s very hard to quit. Many people I know have been able to cut down to say two a day. Just give them a little tiny space where it won’t bother anyone and let them deal with their own problem when they are ready.
I don’t get the extreme that we have gone to with shaming smokers. Yes, I very much enjoy not walking through clouds of smoke on the regular like I used to when in public ten years ago or more. And smokers should always be mindful of others .But to deny smokers any place at all to smoke just seems paranoid and like the goal is to shame them and make their day even harder.
It’s a $3.2 billion industry in Canada. Our government cannot afford to give up that kind of revenue. If they keep pushing smokers out, where’s the money going to come from?
Trudeau is pushing to legalize pot for a reason… that is what is going to replace the revenue for tabacco. Tax pot and there will be tons of revenue.
Yes Nic! Tax the green! Colorado has made a killing off of it
I actually know a couple in Colorado who run a pot farm. They just cleared their first million in profit this year.
I work in a school district (in the US) and there is no smoking allowed, not just in the buildings, but on any school property. This includes parents or people watching football or soccer games. It’s for insurance reasons as well as health. There are a couple of maintenance men who smoke and they have to drive off school property on their breaks if they want to smoke.
In B.C. there is no smoking in public parks, on sidewalks, or at beaches. You will also get nailed $109 if you smoke with your kids in the car. Refusal to pay will cost you your license. At the hospitals, you have to cross the road to smoke.
I don’t think shame is the way to go, ever. But I think it’s fair to point out that people who still choose to smoke cigarettes are doing so despite a mountain of scientific evidence that smoking is all harm, no good.
@shambles same with people who overeat, or undereat, or go to tanning beds, or drink excessively etc. People will always do things that are harmful to them and it’s their own business.
I guess for smoking the main difference is that the smoke itself can harm others and just be gross to deal with, especially when smokers aren’t mindful. So to me that is what should be addressed more than the health impact. Health is each person’s own business.
I’m in Canada too and there’s nothing like ducking into the mall through that gross outdoor smoking zone in the winter. Bleah. But so glad it’s generally banned from public places. Always surprised by how much smoking is still going on in the USA, but then the US has the powerful tobacco industry.
@Patricia
It’s a bit different. People who overeat or undereat are just doing something that is required to sustain life in incorrect amounts. There is no reason whatsoever to pick up smoking. Doesn’t come naturally, most smokers struggle with the first few cigs before becoming addicted.
@Who are these people?
Smoking rates are historically very similar between the US and Canada, with the US trending very slightly lower, at least as per the 2013 rates.
http://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-1-prevalence/1-13-international-comparisons-of-prevalence-of-sm
In 2014 BC had the lowest Canadian smoking stats,11% of females and 17% of males smoked. In Nunavut 59% of males and 65% of females smoke. It must have something to do with extreme cold. Speaking of, it is -40 in the NW Territories at the moment.
Patricia there is the mess that smokers leave. When smoking was first banned in the building I worked in, there started to be literally piles of cig stubs on the sidewalk outside the doors. And then when you walked into the building you had to contend with clouds of smoke as you made your way to the door. Honestly it is such a disgusting habit. Now there are places to put out cig butts and keep them contained but still some lazy smokers who just toss on pavement or sidewalk. In my part of Canada it seems that those who are still smoking are less educated, more rural people. Makes me sick when I see a couple in a pick up truck puffing away whilst child/children sit in the back choking.
Need to point out that in a more public health-insurance system as we have in Canada, everyone’s tax dollars are going to pay for care for people with lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases, so it’s not only an individual choice and it’s not even only about second-hand smoke. IT’s simply a very costly addiction on the personal and societal levels.
I’m not certain this is still true with the proliferation in over-priced cancer drugs, but definitely in the recent past smokers cost less overall than non-smokers in lifetime health care, social care, sheltered housing, etc. — even taking treatment of cancer and COPD into account — simply due to the fact that smokers die so much younger on average. Smoking-related illnesses are expensive to treat, but care of the elderly is typically expensive anyway, and non-smokers still have to die of something, usually preceded by illness and treatment. Many stats on costs of smoking also place monetary value on years of life and work productivity lost, which can further distort the picture on what the purely financial costs to society of smoking are.
That said, I have known several people who have died or are dying of smoking-related illness, and it’s awful. Even if smokers don’t place a net extra financial burden on the state, their illnesses (to say nothing of the second-hand smoke they inflict) take a major toll on their families and loved ones. People need to do whatever they can to quit.
I love Europe and love being in European cities, but the amount of cigarette butts tossed onto beautiful streets and passageways is astonishing. Walking through Paris or Madrid or London on a Sunday morning, the streets are littered in front of bars and restaurants. I find it really disgusting. Another disturbing sight is all the high school kids outside their schools in these cities, smoking away. I live in California and the only people I see smoking in my town are foreign students that congregate outside a language school and throw their cigarette butts on the ground. Gross habit.
(Disclosure: I used to smoke but it’s been 20 years since I quit. Best thing I ever did, by far.)
Smoking is so 1970s. Is it still accepted in some circles in Britain? We are super provincial here, but it is rare to ever see anyone smoking, anywhere. Our outdoor smoking area at work is usually empty – maybe one or two people a day use it.
I am pretty sure people who smoke stick to their own homes (if they can, most apartments are smoke free) and their cars. People probably smoke more frequently outside of bars and clubs, but since I don’t frequent them, I don’t see it.
If La Markle has any influence over Harry, I hope it’s that she gets him to quit. You don’t feel it much when you’re young, but believe me, you don’t want to be a 50 year old smoker.
As aside: Do you honestly think Kate still smokes? She and Carole are all about the pristine interior, so I can’t imagine them smoking in their homes, although I am sure William has his dedicated areas where he can indulge.
Another aside because I am chatty this morning: the most fascinating insider tidbit I got from the recent book on the White House staff was that both George and Laura Bush smoked. He smoked cigars and she cigarettes and they would retreat to the White House Map Room and puff away during stressful times.
Not so much in Beverly Hills. I had to move from an apt. I LOVED because a smoker moved in above me. The smell/smoke would come down in the shared a/c vents; made my apt. smell like a used ashtray. OMG how the smell would smack you in the face when you opened the door to come in! And it never left, even with the windows open, the smell was absorbed into the furniture and rugs. After a few mos., I had to give notice to move; besides the smell, my allergies were going insane. Broke my heart, too, as I had decorated it soooo nicely lol
Can you imagine what the offices in Mad Men smelled like? I have a very sensitive nose when it comes to smoke. It was a joyous day when the bars in my city banned it. I get my magic green through edibles. My husband smokes, but he is banned to our porch and zero smoking in cars.
I don’t think Britain is an different to any other Western country when it comes to smoking. It’s banned in public places and pretty expensive (roughly $12 for a pack of twenty). It’s a lot less prevalent than it was even five years ago.
It varies a lot within countries. More people smoke on the east coast and the middle of the US and Canada than on the west coast. A lot of people in the public eye smoke (more than in the general population, I would wager) because of the pressure to keep one’s weight down.
I’m confused. Isn’t Apt 1A a private apartment? Or is it a royal residence? What exactly is a Royal Household?
Royal Household = Staff that service the Monarch. This includes domestic staff and Business/govt/army Staff. For the wider family, the royal household tends to be more domestic less business/govt/army staff.
Royal residence = any official residence that a royal resides in, be it a Palace or farmhouse in the country.
Apt 1a – this is a royal residence within a Palace. It is used for official work eg hosting the Obamas as well as private family life.
I hope Harry when he marries and has kids get Apt 1 which is currently used by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. It has 21 rooms.
Why suddenly the total ban?
Why not give them a corner somewhere else in the garden and let them have a smoke? It is not as if Buck P and the property was lacking secluded spaces. It really is very hard to quit and in the end it is the smoker’s own life he endangers.
Has the Queen finally found a way to annoy Waity Katie?
It would be seriously funny if the Queen did for just that reason.
Well, she didn’t ban smoking in Balmoral or Sandringham, which are privately owned. Or if she did, hasn’t been announced. This has to be related to smoking being a fire hazard and damaging to publicly owned historic estates.
Kate lives with two young children. If she’s smoking indoors that’s practically criminal.
I’m amazed people were ever allowed to smoke in the royal buildings – considering all the artwork, furniture, and other artifacts housed in all of them, it’s crazy they ever let people smoke around them.
Cigarette smoke causes allergy/respiratory problems for me so I avoid it as much as I can.
Thank you. Was thinking the same about all the historic interiors, artwork, etc.
I am too—I was just watching Ladies of London the other day (anyone watch that!?!) and one of them asked the others not to smoke since it was an estate home. I was like what!?! Who would smoke in a 1500’s home with original captain cook books in them??
You really shouldn’t smoke in Buck House, almost all of it is a potential fire hazard. The only safe place you can throw a cigarette butt is on top of Williams head. Not much fuel up there.
Oh, snap!
The world is amazing, when I was a teen it seemed like everyone smoked and nothing will ever be done about it and now it feels like no one smokes because of all the bans: public smoking, ads, smoking in films/tv. I’m a little shocked every time I come across a smoker – it’s such a rarity these days that I kinda relaxed into the idea that everyone’s done with smoking. Love how it all turned out
Soz, smokers, but I don’t feel sorry for you if you can’t have five minutes to yourself during the working day. It’s incredibly annoying to work with people who take a smoke break every two hours and leave you to mind the office while they’re outside gossiping.
This dates me, but does any one else remember the Friends when Rachel took up smoking to advance herself at work because so much happened during smoke breaks? My husband smokes but not at work (doesn’t want his clothes to smell) and says that the same thing happens at his company.
Haha yes good reference!
Hah. I never took up smoking but the quickest way to make friends in college was to hang out with the smokers, as dorms were no smoking and there was always a crowd
I spent time teaching in Eastern Europe, where smoking is more accepted and it’s pretty easy to become one because everybody does it. I actually tried one cig and just couldn’t do it.
We were in London over the summer and were constantly walking through clouds of smoke on the sidewalks. I was really surprised to see such heavy smoking there at first, but then realized it’s a major international city and shouldn’t be surprised at all. I didn’t know the royals were smokers.
I absolutely love the snark and critical analysis of this website but when it comes to Kate, I think you can be be pretty darn mean. Suggesting that someone smoked during their pregnancy is a serious allegation. I was a smoker for many years but the second I knew I was pregnant it just wasn’t an option anymore.
We don’t even know if she smokes. She has a pack of cigs in her handbag when she is a teenager and all of a sudden she is a regular smoker. I don’t know if she or her sister smokes, they are so health-conscious.
The dump-the-paraolympians France pics included her smoking at the airport. Those photos were scrubbed from the internet even faster than the topless ones.
Maria, exactly. All these people claiming Kate is a chain smoker on no evidence other than carrying a pack of cigs back in 1998. (oh sorry apart from all those photos allegedly scrubbed from the internet that only they ever saw, lololol)
Insinuating that someone smoked through pregnancy is a pretty disgusting thing to do with no evidence.
@nota, I remember seeing those pics.
She was not a teenager, she was in her twenties. I have no issues if she smokes, but she is a closet smoker.
When she was caught naked in France? She was smoking at the airport and on the balcony. Those photos were eviscerated, but not her naked ones… That right there tells you how badly they wanted to hide that habit.
I think Kate probably smokes to keep her weight down , which is not helping her skin for both reasons . A little bit more weight would do wonders . She should miss an exercise workout and have a really good sleep . She looks exhausted.
It is quite possible. My adult stepdaughter is about 5’10” and maybe 115 lb. She lives on coffee and smokes. Maybe eats one meal a day if she has to. It does keep her weight down though she denies that is why she smokes. She smoked all through her pregnancy too.
I agree that it doesn’t help the complexion. As well doctors always advise to quit before any operation as smokers don’t get enough oxygen to encourage healing.
I have a crush on a guy who smokes clove cigs—love the smell of those! 🙂
They still make clove cigarettes? I worked in a smoke shop about 35+ yr ago and we sold clove cigarettes.
And I recall when the cost of a pack of regular smokes went up to $1.00 (Canadian) …all the peeps who were so outraged that smokes would be a dollar a pack who swore they were quitting…..LOL. Yeah sure. Get a part time job to fund your addiction.
If the series The Crown is accurate I’m surprised it took this long. The queen supposedly hates smoking and understood early on the health issues. She watched her father die of lung cancer yet smoke till the end (it was thought to help his stutter). In the series Princess Margaret is always portrayed smoking. Always in every scene it’s kind of funny.
PS: quitting smoking is really hard.
I’ve always found certain signs of aging, like the fine lines, to be nice-looking and interesting. So I know this will sound weird, but I think Kate is going to age beautifully. She’s got a face that will become elegant with time and always remain lovely.