Smoking..... [moved from the confessional]

I won't smoke. But I wish i could.

My Grandfather used to be both a heavy smoker and an excessive drinker. Always very good to me, but to the rest of the world a violent, frequently drunk, Welsh, ex-miner. Used to drink whisky like it was water.

Anyway, he collapsed and keeled over with chest pains. Ambulance, hospital, pipes and wires, you can imagine. Doctor told him that he'd had a heart attack and had to give up tobacco and alcohol or die very soon.

So he did. Give up, that is. It was hell, but he got there. I reckon the giving up suffering was a year long. Anyway, a few years later, somewhere between 5 and 10 I think, he collapsed again.

Hospital, tubes, wires, same doctor. The Doctor told him that this was not a heart attack, it was something easily treatable. He should have stopped talking right there. He sadly went on to say that in hindsight the last collapse was probably not a heart attack either. he then added insult to injury by laughing and telling my Grandfather that even though he hadn't actually needed to give up booze and fags to avoid another heart attack, he was sure that my Grandfather was grateful for all the money saved and improved health.

Like I said, to everybody else a violent man........................

He never went back to smoking although in the final years we often would have a whisky together.

Been on one for over two years. Mine is like this;




Smoked cigarettes (and a pipe for several years) since age 14, tried quitting a couple of times but never lasted more than a couple of days. Bought one of those cheap "pen" type e-cigs about 3 years ago, was about half and half with my regular roll-ups for a few months; then in January 2013 I had a crash in the lorry on the M4, triggered by me having a coughing fit . Eswcaped unhurt and more to the point didn't hurt anyone else, but it was the trigger I needed.

Occasionally still lapsed until I bought that more "powerful" e-cig pictured above; was in Bruges in June this year, damn thing's battery ran out. Annoyed, went into a Tabac, bought 50g pouch of Drum, papers and filters; skinned up a cigarette, took three drags and threw it away in disgust. Haven't touched one at all since.

E-cigs do work, specially so for those who cannot cope with the physical side of going "cold turkey". My health is better, my senses of smell and taste have improved dramatically. Don't care much for the "big hitters" described by Nogbad, mine puts out no more vapour than a normal cigarette does smoke but I couldn't give a toss if he and like-minded folk think it looks daft. It works for me and that's what matters.

It'll happen as and when it happens. As a former pipe smoker I can deal with the "faff" of using e-cigs like topping the liquid up and charging the battery. Incidentally one of my reasons for graduating to the type shown above was that unlike the cheap pen-type ones, you can still use this one whilst it's being charged, so it's fine in the car.

I'm not really that bothered about giving up completely. The one thing I did miss from my smoking days was sitting in front of a decent open fire with a few mates, good pint of Bass in one hand, pipe in the other and putting the world to rights. That went out of the door, quite literally, when the smoking ban came in. More enlightened landlords now allow e-cigs to be used in their pubs, so if i can find one I stick to it; was in the Station Hotel in Derby last Saturday with some Harley friends, Bass from the jug, no open fire unfortunately but good company and it was a bloody marvellous night.  My local in Carmarthen ticks all the boxes too.


Since I gave up, I have noticed that I actually dislike the smell of concentrated cigarette smoke, though I don't mind cigars or pipes.

I really like the smell of cigarette smoke. Absolutely love it.

The clothes of a heavy smoker are not quite so pleasant, nor are ashtrays, but new smoke is great.

...should this have been back in the confessional?