Vaping banned at one of Kent's oldest pubs as landlord says 'it's just not right'

• ITV News Meridian's James Dunham spoke to the pub landlord about the decision

Vaping has been banned in one of Kent's oldest pubs, as the landlord says "it's just not right."

The Three Horseshoes in Hernhill, between Faversham and Canterbury, has put up signs warning people against using the devices inside.

Maurice O’Flynn says he is a heavy smoker and was happy to enforce the smoking ban which came into place in 2007 - but does not see why it is not the same rule for vaping.

He said: "On a Sunday afternoon, we were quite busy, I noticed that there were some people sitting at the bar that were vaping.

"It occurred to me that ’this isn’t right.’ It doesn’t look right, it doesn’t smell right, it’s just not right.

"I don’t think it’s courteous of anybody to start blowing smoke around the place where there are people eating.

"I would certainly not want anybody, in close proximity, vaping while I was trying to eat, and that’s coming from a particularly heavy smoker."

• The decision has been praised by punters

The ban on smoking in pubs, clubs, restaurants and various other venues came into effect on 1 July 2007.

In recent years, sales of electronic cigarettes and disposable vapes, have soared in the UK with around 4.5 million users.

There is no specific law to ban where they can be used, and the Department for Health and Social Care says it currently has no plans to introduce restrictions as "there is no evidence to suggest second-hand vapour causes wider health harms in the way tobacco smoke does."

Although the government does add employers or operators of indoor spaces are within their rights to implement policies banning the use of vapes in their premises.

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