Antony Duke: owner of Head Case Curios. Photo: Jamie Fensom
Head Case Curios, owned and managed by Antony Duke, is Portsmouth’s local Tobacconist on Albert Road selling cigars alongside vintage curios. For several years it's sold cigars to Portsmouth locals. But the tobacco ban might threaten a part of Antony's business.
During the recent Conservative Party conference Rishi Sunak announced a creeping age ban on tobacco, and in the new King's Speech it was revealed that Ministers are considering a new tax on vapes. This could affect the cigar-buying customer base of Head Case, and one day buying tobacco will be banned for all. We asked how Antony reacted to the news.
Surprisingly, he had some praise for the ban saying: "I think it's a good thing, you're stopping the next generation from smoking, that can't be bad." He added that his customer base is around 25+ so his business is likely to be unimpacted for now.
Though Antony doesn't believe the ban will affect his business he was mindful of the need to control the sale of vapes: "Are we just creating another problem for the NHS that will be vape issued in 10-20 years' time because of all the people who've jumped from a cigarette," he said.
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