The Worshipful Company of E-Cigarette Makers and E-Liquid Blenders*

A few weeks ago I attended a tobacco livery event in London.

I don’t normally enjoy formal events but the annual dinner of the Worshipful Company of Tobacco Pipemakers and Tobacco Blenders surprised me.

It helped that I knew more people than I expected to and recognised several others, even if one or two of their names escaped me and I struggled to remember where I'd previously met them.

(Is this an age thing? My memory for names and places definitely isn't what it was. Faces however I do remember.)

A nice touch – and a nod to history – was the snuff that was passed round after dinner. I took a deep breath, inhaled ... and quite liked it.

However, when I mentioned it later to my wife, her reaction was "Ugh!" so I think snuff may have an image problem.

Anyway, if you’re unfamiliar with the Worshipful Company of Tobacco Pipemakers and Tobacco Blenders, it was founded in 1619 before being dissolved and re-formed twice, most recently in 1954.

According to their website:

Our Company is nowadays associated with all aspects of the UK tobacco trade, including leaf growers, merchants and blenders; tobacco and paper manufacturers; pipe makers; snuff blenders; cigar importers and retail tobacconists.

Nowhere does it mention e-cigarettes, alternative nicotine products or vape stores so I confess I was a bit surprised to see several guests whose employers are actively trying to eradicate smoking from society.

Among them was someone from Philip Morris (who greeted me warmly and gave me his business card), another from Juul (whose founders made the elimination of smoking one of their primary objectives), and a leading representative of the UK vaping industry.

All nice people who I was happy to say hello to but am I the only person who found their presence at a tobacco livery dinner a bit ironic?

It made me wonder though if there will eventually be a spin-off livery, The Worshipful Company of E-Cigarette Makers and E-Liquid Blenders.

It might lack the history and prestige of a 400-year-old tobacco livery (albeit one that has regenerated twice) but what a challenge - to boldly go where no livery company has gone before.

You read it here first.

PS. My love hate relationship with formal events can be easily explained.

I love being invited but I hate being forced into clothes that are stiff and uncomfortable and leave precious little room for eating.

In this instance the dress code was white tie although black tie was tolerated.

Thankfully I wasn’t alone in wearing black tie but I don’t believe it was coincidence that I didn't appear in the official photographs that were distributed after the event.

Where I really disgraced myself was wearing shoes that haven’t seen a lick of polish in years and were recently chewed by the dog.

If it’s true you can tell a lot about a man by his shoes (and I think it probably is) then all my worst characteristics were on display.

If I get invited back next year it will be a miracle.

* To be clear, The Worshipful Company of E-Cigarette Makers and E-Liquid Blenders doesn't exist, yet.