There are 24 hours before voting closes to choose a Conservative candidate for the 2016 London mayoral election.
As I mentioned yesterday the Labour candidate Sadiq Khan is keen on extending the smoking ban to outdoor areas although, to be fair, it wasn't one of the issues he raised following his selection.
Nevertheless there's little doubt that should the question arise Khan would support extending the smoking ban to London's parks and squares.
So what are the alternatives to a Labour London mayor keen to 'encourage' the city's one million smokers to quit?
Well, there are four Tory candidates - Zac Goldsmith, Syed Kamall, Andrew Boff and Stephen Greenhalgh.
Goldsmith is the favourite but Kamall's team is making one final bid to generate a few extra votes by targeting a rather surprising group - consumers of e-cigarettes.
Speaking exclusively to our sister campaign Action on Consumer Choice last week, MEP Kamall appealed directly to vapers when he said:
"E-cigarettes are giving millions of smokers the ability to kick the habit. I would like to see London becoming the most vape-friendly city in the world.
"Unlike smoking there are no nasty smells, there’s no evidence of vaping being a risk to third parties, and bodies such as Public Health England say it’s 95 per cent less harmful than smoking tobacco. This is a technology that can save lives and we should welcome it."
Frankly I don't agree with all of that. Nasty smells? Don't be so precious, Syed! The vapour from e-cigarettes is hardly aroma free. Depending on the flavour it can be sweet and quite sickly if you're in close proximity but I wouldn't make an issue of it.
As for there being no evidence that vaping is a risk to third parties, he's right, but I resent the implication that smoking tobacco is a serious risk to non-smokers when the evidence is pretty flimsy.
Nevertheless it's refreshing to hear a politician reject further restrictions on smoking, even while holding his nose:
"I don’t like smoking but rather than imposing more restrictions, former smokers tell me we should instead encourage smokers to kick the habit by trying new consumer-driven technologies like vaping."
That said, ex (?) smoker Zac Goldsmith – who voted in 2010 to amend the smoking ban – could be our man too.
To the best of my knowledge however Goldsmith hasn't commented on outdoor smoking bans, for or against, unlike his rival Andrew Boff who last year made his opposition to an outdoor smoking ban very clear.
See Could we ban smoking in London's parks? (Londonist).
So here's the deal. It's not too late to help choose the Conservative candidate for the 2016 London mayoral election.
You can make your own decision. It does seem clear though that the best result for those who wish to keep the freedom to smoke in London's parks and squares is a successful Conservative candidate, whether that be Goldsmith, Kamall or Boff. (I don't know Stephen Greenhalgh's views on the subject but he's an outsider in the race so it probably doesn't matter.)
To vote click here. If you're not a party member it costs £1 to register.