Smoke on the cobbles

There was a time, down Weatherfield way, when it would have been remiss of a character not to have an ashtray somewhere about their home. If you turn back the clock to the sixties and seventies, everyone was at it - whether it be Mike Baldwin with "one of my little cigars" or Emily Bishop toking on a crack pipe - Corrie was wreathed in fumes.

Which makes it so astonishing when you see a member of the cast light up nowadays, such as the second regeneration of Ryan Connor. Even more bizarre then that it is a young character with a bad habit. Maybe that's what it is all about - giving the new lad an edge. It's been done before. Jamie Baldwin and Gary Windass sported ciggies in early episodes. Sisters Becky and Kylie were forever billowing smoke from their nostrils. The less-than-subtle message being that it's only those from thr wrong side of the tracks who partake in the evil weed.

Of course, it wasn't always the case. Back in pre-history, Elsie's continuous puffing was almost an accessory. Even early days Rita and the nascent Audrey never said no to a fag. It goes without saying that the poorer characters - Bet, Hilda, Vera - relied on their cigarette breaks. The likes of Annie, Emily, Betty, Ena and Minnie never partook (although Doris Speed was an avid smoker in real life).

The younger blokes in Weatherfield have generally steered a path of abstention, save for the slightly 'gone to seed' middle aged gang of Steve, Lloyd and Karl (maybe his strange colouring is nicotine yellow?)

The Street's most celebrated smoker is Deirdre, often to be spotted huddled in the back alleys, dragging on a Superking. Deirdre has made it an art form and forty years of fumes have left us with that rich, baritone voice. Give her another twenty years and she'll be Darth Vader in a twinset.

A bit of social observation then. The glamour of the sixties smoker has given way to bad lads with bad habits. Fags for the memory...

See also: Corrie producer defends Street smokers. 

See also: Pictures of Coronation Street women smoking - past and present - on screen and off.

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Tracy Barlow's 7 Steps away from smoking

In Coronation Street the other week when Tracy made Deirdre walk 7 Steps away from the house to have a fag in the back yard, I just thought that it was part of the dialogue, funny as it was. But no, there really is a 7 Steps campaign, which I've just read about today in my local paper, The Sunderland Echo.

The 7 Steps campaign is organised by Fresh and Smokefree North West.  The Fresh Director said: "Coronation Street deserve a big 'well done'.  We were surprised and delighted when it was featured but it's close to reality.  We have heard stories of people asking friends to take 7 Steps rather than tell them not to smoke in teh house. Soap operas and films are an important influence."

You can find out more about the campaign at their website at http://www.take7stepsout.co.uk/

Illustration by the wonderful Thea Brine

Corrie Producer defends Street smokers

Coronation Street's Executive Producer, Kieran Roberts, has defended the soap for having characters who smoke.

Kieran told the Radio Times: "While we have a duty not to glamourise the habit, it would be realistic to see nobody smoking - but only a few regulars do." He added that the smoking ban in 2007 means characters such as Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) tend to smoke outdoors now, for example in the new smoker's shelter in the back yard at the Rovers Return.