There is a quiet dark cloud hanging over all UK specialist cigar stores and it will sweep down on them in a relatively short period of time. I was sitting having a coffee at Franco's in Jermyn street on Saturday with a director of one of the UK cigar retailers and we were looking across at Davidoff and discussing the fact that the new legislation which passed at the end of the last government as they tidied up and rushed through last minute bills, includes a clause that will ban even specialist cigar retailers from displaying anything tobacco related in their windows.

For some stores this is not a huge issue but for Davidoff with their huge windows and glittering range of smoking product its going to be a huge blow. In Canada tobacco shops now resemble sex shops with blacked out windows, is this where we are headed in the UK?

The reason for writing this is not to highlight the legislation which I am sure many of you are aware of but to flag that in the US something even more sinister is happening. In Maryland recently a law was put into effect that banned direct sales of cigars ? along with other non-cigarette tobacco products in the ?Other Tobacco Products? by out of state retailers to the state?s residents. The law, which was introduced at the request the state comptroller, passed in 2010 but only went into effect on May 1.

This creeping threat to our right to choose to smoke includes pressure by payment agencies, we are all aware of the attitude of Paypal to pay for anything tobacco related, and you have to ask yourself where will it all end?