The act of blowing smoke was a real thing! There were devices installed alongside major waterways in London!
The thinking went that nicotine in tobacco was thought to stimulate the heart, while the heat from the smoke would warm the victim from the inside, while the dry air would potentially removing any “excessive moisture”. The result? A happy, healthy, un-drowned person with a strong heart beat and warm, dry insides! It was like a defibrillator and a towel, but for your butt!
Lord Felchington isn’t real though. I made him up.