Origin tale of cigarette ash and trouser cuffs

Last week I was interviewed on Newstalk radio in Ireland.

The subject was cigarette litter and it followed this report in the Irish Times - Tobacco companies give €250,000 in first street-cleaning payment.

I began by saying that smokers should take more responsibility for their cigarette butts but councils should also do more to provide cigarette bins.

I suggested that smokers should try and carry a pocket ashtray, explaining that they vary from small plastic wallets to large leather pouches.

A friend was listening and sent me a message:

My dad once told me that the turn ups in trousers were used for cigarette ash back in the day.

His father was renowned for obsessively telling jokes so I assumed this was a joke too until my friend sent me a link to an American tailor’s website that features a list of ‘mythical tales’ concerning the origin of trouser cuffs.

They include:

• Cuffs started with men rolling up their trousers to avoid getting mud splashed on them when roads were still unpaved.
• Parents used cuffs to extend the life of children’s clothes by buying pants that were too long, cuffing the legs and then unrolling them as the child grew taller.
• Cuffs were invented by fashion designers to add weight to the bottom of the trouser, improving the overall drape and line of the pant on models strutting down the catwalk.

But in the context of cigarette litter, the origin tale that appealed to me most read:

• Men used trouser cuffs to catch the ashes from their cigarettes, before there were proper ashtrays in places like trains and public waiting rooms.

It can’t be true, can it?

See: Cigarettes buts are most common litter item - should smokers pay for the clean-up? (Newstalk).

Includes a quote from me and a link to the full eleven-minute interview.