# Drinking and Smoking



## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I was just wondering who still did both or either, bearing in mind the financial and health costs to you and the NHS.

I packed up smoking after having a cold about 6 years ago, didn't like the taste, switched to herbal roll ups, I got down to 3 a day, and just stopped within a month, a smart arsed pub owner thanked me for paying for his holiday in Bermuda, So I stopped supporting him, and I've never been a sofa drinker, so I must have saved a small fortune, but I'm buggered if I can find it.


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## tugboat (Sep 14, 2013)

I stopped smoking 23 years ago, having been a fairly heavy smoker when I was at sea. It helped me stay awake in the long hours, and helped relieve stress.

Drinking-wise, I seem to go through phases. I clearly don't need alcohol because sometimes I'll go weeks without a drink and sometimes I'll have one for several days in a row.

Strangely, when I'm with Sandra and Albert, or Barry, my consumption does tend to soar. Can't imagine why!


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## 96299 (Sep 15, 2005)

Gave up smoking 8 years ago and puffed on 60 -70 a day. Best thing I ever did.

Still  like a drink though, but now days I have a bit of a passion for real ales, whereas years ago it would of been a pint of chemical (Lager) :frown2:

Steve


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

Been TT for 56 years but smoked for 61 years, however gave myself a £2,500 (net!!) pay rise in May when I stopped my 20 a day habit.
Tried stopping many times but never succeeded..... then I just stopped....very odd!


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

Gave up smoking in 1975, never touched one since.

Drink I can take it or leave it, and at present I can't drink due to medications anyway 

Peter


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## blindwatchertrev (Nov 4, 2011)

Kev_n_Liz said:


> I was just wondering who still did both or either, bearing in mind the financial and health costs to you and the NHS.
> 
> I packed up smoking after having a cold about 6 years ago, didn't like the taste, switched to herbal roll ups, I got down to 3 a day, and just stopped within a month, a smart arsed pub owner thanked me for paying for his holiday in Bermuda, So I stopped supporting him, and I've never been a sofa drinker, so I must have saved a small fortune, but I'm buggered if I can find it.


As one who avidly reads this forum but regrettably rarely contributes due to lack of know how regarding motor homing matters ( I'm always amazed by the expertise and technical excellence demonstrated by the members), I can't avoid this question because I'm guilty on both counts.
In my 66th year, I smoke about half ounce of baccy a day and have been doing so since I was about 12 yrs old. Wor lass hates it and won't allow smoking indoors. She lost her mum and younger brother to lung cancer so her approach is understandable. She never nags me about it but is of course concerned because of my inability to stop. I've tried every method to kick it but always return to my wicked ways. I did manage to stop for a substantial period about 6 yrs ago but stupidly thought that one tab( Geordie for a ***) wouldn't matter. That's the nature of addiction, always kidding yourself! 
I love a pint or two with my mates as well but its undeniable that the nature of this pastime has changed dramatically over recent years. We would regularly have 5 or 6 sessions a week often sinking 7 or 8 pints a time. Now that a lot of pubs have gone the distance in our area we meet a couple of times a week to chew the cud and rue the misfortunes of 'The Toon'. Socially it's a big loss but a substantial gain in the pocket.
Thanks for listening and all the best to all for 2016. Trev.


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## tugboat (Sep 14, 2013)

Hynotherapy worked for me, Trev, best 50 quid I ever spent. Threw my **** and lighter in a bin on the way home and never smoked again. Given that I was very sceptical about hypnosis type treatments and possibly not the ideal client, I tried to have an open mind about it and it just worked.

Mind you, since the treatment, I can't help flashing old ladies. Strange, isn't it?8-[


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Both but as regards the cost to the NHS, I think the tax collected by faggers and boozers far outweighs the costs in repairing us when we eventually fall ill because of it. Ive never had kids but have paid the same rates and tax (a lot of tax actually) as everyone else so I dont think ill ever feel bad if I need the NHS because I boozed my way there. There you go. 

I almost gave up the **** and swapped to the leccy ones but the best ive done is down to one packet of full fat **** a week. Im worse in the van as Im outside more. Ive had a love affair with booze since I was 14 unfortunately. Its been my best friend and my worst enemy at times. Im planning to have a month off when we get home this weekend but mainly as I need to lose some blooming weight (again).


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Stopped smoking about 26 yrs ago after loads of failed attempts over the years, I gave up for a year just before that but got detached to the Falklands and ended up smoking more cheap cigars than I used to smoke cigarettes, so gave them up when I got back to UK and have never touched either since.


Been partial to the odd tipple ever since I were a lad, I blame the cheap booze and social life for years in the forces and the cheap pallet load we bring home now after every visit abroad in the motorhome. :roll:




Pete


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

I was a 60 a day on ****, loved a proper beer as well, plus of course a wee dram when in the mood.:wink2::wink2:

Gave up in 1972 when the wife said she was pregnant, gave up the booze in 1989 due to the medication I am on and the illness.

Still trying to find all that money I am saving.>>, oh yes it bought the motorhome.

Large jar and put the price of a pkt in every day or so, depending on how much you smoked.

cabby


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

The government takes in a total of about £9.5 billion in tobacco duties, and the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association says another £2.5 billion goes to the Treasury in VAT. So the Treasury is taking in about £12 billion directly from tobacco sales.
Does smoking cost as much as it makes for the Treasury? The truth is nobody knows. 
https://fullfact.org/factchecks/does_smoking_cost_as_much_as_it_makes_for_the_treasury-29288


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## Brock (Jun 14, 2005)

Gave up smoking when I was 7. My Aunty, who smoked 20+ **** a day, gave me a cigarette and I can still remember how bad I felt after managing to smoke just half of it. If course, that was her intent; make me feel so ill I'd never touch another. She's probably get charged for some child related offence if she did it in modern times.

Drinking is a maximum of two pints of 7% cider a week - sometimes pale ale, but I've never been more than a 4 pints of ale a night man. I cut down when working away from home. I didn't want to be the sad old and lonely man who drank too much.


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

My alcohol/tobacco tax all went to the government up to 2006, bought a camper, ALL revenue now goes to Belgium/France :smile2:


tony


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## Matchlock (Jun 26, 2010)

I enjoy a cigarette, a pack a day, I also enjoy a drink, find Scotch goes down too easy but just found a cure for both.
Got a bad dose of flu on Boxing day, first time I have had flu and hope it will be the last, but since then I can't stand having a draw in a cig, no way I can drink alcohol and eating just does not cut it for me.
The upside is that I have effectively given up drinking and Smoking and lost 8lb in weight, the downside being that I feel like crap and spending days wrapped in a blanket on the settee watching reruns of Homes under the Hammer just about gets me through the day.


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

When I gave up the weed I was a pipe-smoker, that dates me! And no, it wasn'the a clay pipe.
I'd given up several times before, the most spectacular when on the Grey Funnel Line and ciggies were 1/4do for 25. It was a fortnight later when opposite started asking if I was okay now. Evidently I'd been like a bear with a sore head and not realised it!


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

*Gave up smoking about twenty a day a couple of decades ago, around the time I had a vasectomy although I'm not sure that had any relevance to my decision, and have never regretted either event.*

*As for drinking - I'm down to one glass a day …...*


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

I gave up drinking when my girlfriend at the time joined the sisterhood


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Never smoked, apart from second hand, but do like a glass of wine or two with my dinner.


My dad did a brilliant job of putting us kids off smoking (all three of us never smoked, ever) when, if he caught us watching him smoking, he would cough and splutter as though he was about to expire. Alongside the disgusted face he made it worked a treat.


Now watching our mum enjoy a drink had a different effect entirely. 


Worth parents remembering how much their example matters.


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## havingfun (Oct 31, 2007)

started smoking at 40, came from a family of smokers and drinkers,dident do either, and worked in a nightclub for 20 years, i always got put on the free bar,because with not smoking or drinking the boss knew i wouldent be helping myself, but at 40 lost a lot of my family,and lots of bad things going on,fire, etc,so started with the odd ***,and a glass of wine,met oh,and he smoked 60 a day,so smoked more,but he dident drink, so the glass of wine went.

he got flu, when he was 58 never been ill a day in his life,ended up in intensive care, and stopped smoking at once, i tried but still smoked,then we bought the motorhome, and oh said no smoking in the van, so our first trip to france,ended up with no cigs bought some black things that stank,and we were at arrommache and the wind and rain were horizontal, and i,m stood outside in the cold and wet,oh is in the warm,with a glass of red,i threw the cigs, lighter away,got in van and said ,pour me a glass,and its the last time i,ve smoked.

i now enjoy a glass of red, especilly at the price we pay for it,but at home can go weeks and not have a drink,but in the van at suppertime,or if you are posh dinnertime,we always have 1 glass of red,rarely two.

mags


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

rayc said:


> I gave up drinking when my girlfriend at the time joined the sisterhood


Is that Cabby or Tuggs bottom left Ray.


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

tugboat said:


> Hynotherapy worked for me, Trev, best 50 quid I ever spent. Threw my **** and lighter in a bin on the way home and never smoked again. Given that I was very sceptical about hypnosis type treatments and possibly not the ideal client, I tried to have an open mind about it and it just worked.
> 
> Mind you, since the treatment, I can't help flashing old ladies. Strange, isn't it?8-[


Hang in there, save yourself. I'll be back in UK soon. Don't tell Aldra where or when.:surprisei.e where you are, not where I am!)


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## suedew (May 10, 2005)

Have never smoked, got very drunk in my teens and didn't drink much after that, got a kidney infection and stopped completely for about 6 years. Tend to do most of the designated driver bit when out and rarely have any alcohol the night before driving when abroad.
I do tend to make up for it somewhat at other times though.
For the record am one of the few in my extended family who didn't smoke, but am the one with respiratory problems. So hope their excise duty pays for my asthma medication.
Was interesting to see that of a gang of youngsters coming out of college the other day, only 1 was smoking, in my day it would be the other way about.

Sue


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## dovtrams (Aug 18, 2009)

Never smoked, however I enjoy a glass of wine and a good malt. Everything in moderation but it depends on who the moderator is!

Dave


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Lightweights!!!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well i didn't smoke until my late twenties 

But boy did I make up for it then

Never thought I could give up

But on day I did

Didn't drink until very late 

Prob late 40s

Then only wine

Still drink only wine

White very dry

Far too much

Especially now

When it's what reduces stress come 6 o'clock 

But I can and do stop for 40 days at a time 
Think I need to make it permenant

But I never(well hardly ever) 

Suffer from a hangover in the morning

Not sure that's bad or good

I drink about 2/3 of a litre of water every night

It's what I do, I wake I drink mineral water

I really enjoy it (same brand) carry litres in the MH, sod the weight 

And drink it throughout the day too

Aldra


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## Tezmcd (Aug 3, 2009)

Well I quit smoking 3 years ago at 49 - I decided that if I was still smoking 60 a day at 50 I might not see 60 a day at 60
Had tried many many times to quit over the years but one day that thought came in my head and I quit right there - weird as you like (still like some second hand mind)

As for drinking - if you ask my insurance broker I drink exactly 21 units a week 
(such a shame he has no idea how big my units are!)

I did get concerned at how I have a drink most days (never before 6pm - weird I hate drinking in the daytime?)
I quit drinking for a couple of weeks last year just to see if I could - no problem really but missed the chilled out feeling that a couple of beers gets me 

I have come to realise that no matter what I do I will never live forever.
My vice's have changed the shape of my physique over the years but then I'm no longer looking to impress anyone with the way I look

I've lived my life my way - and I will continue to do so - right / wrong? I have no idea but I'm enjoying it either way and I hope you all do too.

Terry


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## ChrisandJohn (Feb 3, 2008)

I gave up smoking 14 years ago this month aged 56. I'd tried before but this time I was really motivated. My first grandchild had been born the previous May and I not only wanted to see her grow up, but I wanted to be fit enough to do things with her too. It took me a while to work out what would work for me and also to think about what sort of support I wanted. The main thing I realised is that all the advice about getting straight up and doing something else after a meal etc. wouldn't work for me. I realised I associated smoking with taking a break and that, because I smoked roll-ups, rolling them was part of the ritual I'd miss. So I needed something else to do with my hands that I could just do in a coffee break or after a meal. I decided on knitting. Each time I wanted a cigarette I would sit down and knit a few rows. I wasn't making anything as i'm not really a knitter, but I still have the 15cm squares that even now could be sewn together to make a (doll's) blanket. It took about three months before I couldn't be bothered with, or didn't need, the knitting. Now, most of the time I forget that smoking even exists, and I'm not tempted, though if I was I wouldn't dare risk it.

John was the only person I told at the time as felt I needed his tolerance if I got a bit ratty. I asked him not to 'police' me though. In my work in mental health rehab I'd seen enough people sabotaging goals they had apparently set for themselves because they resented anyone checking up. I realised if I was being policed it was perfectly possible that I'd lose sight of the fact that I was doing it for myself and might try to have a sneaky one.

Drinking: mainly I used to drink beer in pubs, now I mainly drink wine with an evening meal at home. A bottle usually lasts two nights between the two of us and and, on average, we get through 2, sometimes 3, a week. I hate getting drunk and haven't done so for years.


Chris


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Why would an innocuous thread discussing matters which are very important to both the health and wealth of the nation need to be moved to the bar? The thread is in no way political even though both drinking and smoking are right at the top of the political agenda. I'm baffled. 

An explanation would be nice. Maybe there is one and I missed it?


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

erneboy said:


> Why would an innocuous thread discussing matters which are very important to both the health and wealth of the nation need to be moved to the bar? The thread is in no way political even though both drinking and smoking are right at the top of the political agenda. I'm baffled.
> 
> An explanation would be nice. Maybe there is one and I missed it?


It not in the bar for me?


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

I gave up smoking on new years day 2004...so 12 years now for me. I was on 40 a day and had smoked for years. It killed my mother when I was 12 and my father in 2003. I gave up only when I had finished my pack on NYD...I don't like waste :wink2:

After 48 hours or so when the chemical side had worked through I never missed it. I paid around $10 dollars for a short on line course of readings by Allen Carr (not the chatty man...the other one :grin2 which helped to put some perspective on it. I'd recommend it if you are able to keep an open mind regarding the logic used.

Drinking beer is a hobby of mine so that'll not be stopped :grin2:. I do try not to drink during the week during term times though.

I'd like to thank the Government though for saying I can now drink 14 units a day. I think I'll store them up and do it all at the weekend though...

Graham :smile2:













PS I do know its per week :grin2:


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

You are quite right Kev. I'll have to stop taking the mind altering drugs.

I could swear that the word Moved appeared below the thread title and it was in the bar. How odd, or maybe I'm confusing it with another thread.

Anyway please all ignore me I'm happy in my own little world. Sorry about that.


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

erneboy said:


> You are quite right Kev. I'll have to stop taking the mind altering drugs.
> 
> I could swear that the word Moved appeared below the thread title and it was in the bar. How odd, or maybe I'm confusing it with another thread.
> 
> Anyway please all ignore me I'm happy in my own little world. Sorry about that.


You're not going daft, I thought I saw it in the subby lounge too when it was forst posted, it has been moved since...

Pete


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

erneboy said:


> You are quite right Kev. I'll have to stop taking the mind altering drugs.
> 
> I could swear that the word Moved appeared below the thread title and it was in the bar. How odd, or maybe I'm confusing it with another thread.
> 
> Anyway please all ignore me I'm happy in my own little world. Sorry about that.


Check your PM box >


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Ah, I see moved out of the bar. OK, but why bother doing that?


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

erneboy said:


> Ah, I see moved out of the bar. OK, but why bother doing that?


Haven't a clue, maybe because they knew you were going to complain it was in there. :grin2:

Pete


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