a 50 gram packet of rolling baccy now costs £50 in most places
£1 a gram? Wow! I had no idea, but then again I haven't had a cigarette this century.
After trying to stop smoking and failing dozens of times, I finally had my epiphany in December 1999.
I woke up feeling terrible, mild headache, sore throat, tight chest...
I went outside and lit my first cigarette, had my usual 5 minute coughing fit, and knew in that moment that if I continued like this, I wouldn't live to see my grandchildren. Once again I vowed to stop smoking, and this time I kind of believed it.
It's a bit clichè, but I decided to stop on New Year's Eve. So at 11:50 on December the 31st, I lit my last ever cigarette.
It was tough going for a while but i did it. Now, 25 years later, it seems such a horrible habit that I can't believe I ever did it.
I'll add a PS to that.
When I stared pokering with Tom it would have been the early noughties, 2002/3, something like that.
He was not smoking, but he had a "dummy", a sort of little white plastic thing, bit like a cigarette holder, maybe 3" long, & this was his "pretend" cigarette. It had nothing in it, but it was just a sort of comfort cloth.
He was never without it, & at the poker tables he'd have a "pretend puff" every few minutes.
We went down to Brighton for a Festival and stayed at a little Hotel in Hickstead, out in the Country, & shared a room. Only one bed & iirc, Tom slept on the floor. (Actually, may have been Southend, but no matter).
Anyway, we wake up in the morning to get ready to go have some breakfast, & Tom could not find his dummy. He went crazy, "I HAVE TO FIND IT".
Tom's prone to occasional mental agitation, & he completely flipped.
After 20 minute's searching, he had to give up & accept it had disappeared.
So he started to put his shoes & socks on, & there it was, in one of his sweaty socks. Within seconds it was in his mouth & everything in life was good again.
PS - I'm not taking the piss or 'owt, if it works, don't knock it. I gave up 17 years later than Tom, and it was both instant & easy, though those 17 years cost me dearly in health terms. Never touched a cigarette since, though I do indulge in the occasional vape, mostly when pokering in Vegas. It just sort of goes with gambling. I loved smoking, but yes, it was a pretty dumb thing to have done. I have a very long list of dumb things & what might be best described as unforced errors I've made in life, & ciggies are certainly in that mix, maybe even Top 10. Jeez, when I look back at the mis-steps I've made in life....
