I watched a film the other night that I'd wanted to watch for ages, Coffee & Cigarettes by Jim Jarmusch. It's constructed as a series of vignettes, often played out by famous actors, rock stars and the like sitting in coffee shops - enjoying (sometimes) coffee, conversation and cigarettes. It's a good film and pretty damn funny. You should watch it. But what got me thinking was that coffee and cigarettes share more than their addictive nature and 'vice' status. They share a common language. A language that developed in to a rich and alluring art-form over many years, and one that is now essentially obsolete for cigarettes. I remember and love some of the cigarette advertising in the early 80's - just think back to the black and gold JPS formula 1 cars, but since the widespread ban on tobacco advertising it's all gone. And I'm not denying that's a good thing, it's just a shame to let it all go to waste - because the language of cigarettes can supplant that of coffee. So the next time you're in Soho pop into a good old tobacconist, buy a paper and take a good long look at the carefully stocked shelves of free material behind that counter. And while I'm on the subject I have to link to my favourite building in London, the beautiful art deco Carreras Tobacco Company building, now Greater London House.
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