Where Nairobi’s women go to smoke

What stands out in Nairobi's smoking zones is the clear absence of women amidst the crowd of nicotine-enslaved men who turn these crammed sheds or open lots into stuffy, fume-filled dens, distinctively reeking of tobacco as the men 'kata kiu' and watch smoke lazily waft from a myriad of tobacco-stained hands.

Occasionally, a few daring women join the affable smokers to choke and stain their lungs in a moment of bliss to ease the unremitting crave for a puff. It is this that makes smoking a sociable 'bad' habit that knows no boundaries and would bring together the rich, poor, old and young from all walks of life, religion and race in a meditative and good-humoured huddle of shared obsession.