I started smoking at the ridiculously late age of 21.
I say ridiculous, because most smokers start at a much younger age, when they had less sense. What was my excuse? I don’t have one. I was an idiot, but hey, I did it and now, many years later, I have to rectify the error of my ways.
Most rational, sensible people quit smoking for health reasons and rightly so, but for me it’s a bit of both. The cost of a pack of smokes these days is a cold hard tenner. I’m smoking nigh on 20 a day so that’s a tenner a day, or €70 a week or €280 a month or €3,360 a year.
€3,360 A YEAR!!!!!
When I see it there written in black and white right in front of me, I get angry with myself. That is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on something I don’t need. To put it in simple terms, if I quit smoking, I’ll be both healthier and wealthier.
I have kids and I know they hate the fact that I smoke. They’ve asked me to quit before and I’ve always put it on the long finger and said things like, ‘Oh, I will, don’t worry, some day soon.’ Some day soon has become very soon indeed because psychologically, I have made the decision. I am quitting.
I love smoking
The thing is, I won’t lie, I love smoking! I enjoy having a smoke with a coffee, or when I’m out with friends having a pint, or indeed that first one in the morning. I love all that, but I also know the harm it’s doing both to me and my pocket.
It’s all psychological. I know that. I’m a stand-up comedian and one of my little rituals is to have that one smoke about five minutes before going on stage. I know I don’t need it, but as I said, it’s become part of the ritual of preparing for a gig.
I’ve tried quitting in the past and failed. Longest I’ve lasted was a mammoth (in my eyes) 12 weeks. What happened then was I was rehearsing for a play and all the other actors smoked, so I kind of felt left out a little when they went off for a smoke. Couple that with the stress and nerves of the imminent first night performance and before long I was back on the smokes full time.
The plan
The plan is that I am going to give the tablets a go. I’ve heard plenty of positive things about GP prescribed pills that help kill your cravings for nicotine. I know it’s not going to be easy and the lads here in JOE will probably feel my wrath a few times, but I hope they don’t take it personally and realise that it’s just the withdrawals man.
I’m waiting for the GP to contact me to tell me the prescription is ready and when it is, the journey to a healthier and wealthier me will begin. I hope you can enjoy my ramblings as I aim to kick the habit square in the giblets and rid myself of this affliction.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
