Last Orders For Cigarettes

“Ding, ding……is that a bell I can hear? It is!!” Does this bell mean grab a cheeky final drink before the bar closes, or is it last orders for cigarettes? You may have recently heard that the Government are to consider the introduction of a smoking ban in pub gardens and other outdoor venues. These other venues would also include outdoor restaurants and outside sports venues, hospitals, nightclubs, and in some small parks. This is indeed a big leap. There has been many comments in the last few days about the pros, the cons and other factors like the impact on people’s freedom of choice and such like.

This article though is not to get into the heavy political debates of the suggestion. The announcement of this possible ban though conjured up memories of the days when I used to smoke. If this ban is introduced, it is a measure so far removed of what was allowed during my smoking days.

There follows a quick trip down Memory Lane. No political debate, I’ll leave that for other platforms.

Last Orders For Cigarettes?

I remember it well. There I was, 15 years of age, babysitting for a close neighbour on a Saturday night. Hmm…..what is that I can see sitting on top of the mantelpiece? Oo-er, it is a packet of cigarettes and a box of matches. I daren’t, dare I? Oh go on, what the hell. It will only be a one-off. (NB: How many smokers started off by saying that!!).

Not really having a proper clue, I managed to light a cigarette and embark on my first drag. I think the cigarette was a Silk Cut. Do they still make them? The first drag was a nightmare. Dizzy!! Dizzy!! “Oh my God” I thought. People actually enjoy this!!

When I’d smoked as much as I could stand, I extinguished what was left and thought, “that’s it, never again!!” Famous last words. But as it happened, from there on in for the next nine years or so, I smoked with the feeble understanding of that I could always pack in when I felt like. Again, how many smokers have said that? I tried unsuccessfully a few times until my eventual last drag. I vaguely(!!) remember the day. The 1st of February 1982 at 8:45am was my last ciggie.

How do I remember it so vividly? A doctor’s appointment later that day was how.

One Of The Best Decisions I Made

I was studying in Sheffield in 1982 and one of my memories of Sheffield was that it was always a lot colder than Chester in the winter. Or so it seemed. The morning of the 1st February was a particularly cold day. Very frosty and icy. So there I was, walking to my lectures in the freezing cold with a really bad sore throat when I was already on my second ciggie of the day.

I was about halfway through my ciggie and the combination of inhaling cigarette fumes and the freezing cold air was like razor blades on my throat. It was as though I was smoking my second of the day on auto-pilot. So, in an instant, I threw my half finished Embassy to the ground and decided that I wouldn’t (or I’d try not to) have another one until after my doctor’s appointment later that afternoon.

The doctor later confirmed that I did in fact have bronchitis and he asked me if I smoked. When I said I did, he reached into a drawer in his desk and promptly pulled out some colour brochures and leaflets. Let’s just say that some of the images of what smoking could do to you and your health still haunt me today.

Last Orders For Cigarettes – A Great Deterrent

Wow, I thought, I must try and stop. My very sore throat was another “aid” to steer me away from the packet of Embassy nestling in my jacket pocket. So, when I arrived back at my digs, I went to my room and strategically pinned the leaflets the doctor gave me to my cork noticeboard. They were a great deterrent.

I then wandered into the shared living room area of our digs and said to my Glaswegian housemate and the only other smoker in our abode, Derek, “do me a favour, just keep hold of these for me and if I want one I’ll ask you for my packet back.”

There was nearly a full packet of ciggies that Derek ‘minded’ for me. He asked if I was trying to pack in but I said that I wasn’t but as I was feeling really rough I didn’t want to be tempted. In reality, I knew it was my attempt to pack in, but back in them days if you told your fellow smoking mates that you were packing in, then some would cajole you back into “just trying another one.” Derek himself would have also known he was gaining a freebie packet of ciggies. And Embassy as well. A lot better smoke (in my opinion) than the awful Players No 6 he used to smoke.

So, there you have it. My last ciggie on 1st February 1982 at 8:45am. Job done and one of the best decisions I made. My decision was further strengthened by the March 1982 Budget when the price of a packet of ciggies breached many smokers “stop trigger point.” We had reached the milestone of £1 and slightly over for a packet of 20 barrier I seem to recall. Paying £1 for a packet of fags!! Outrageous. Even more incentive to pack in.

When Smoking In Public Was Allowed

Looking back on my nine years or so of smoking, it didn’t seem to be a problem or frowned upon for smokers to freely smoke in so many places. Pubs, clubs, cinemas, restaurants, public transport, at work and even planes wasn’t off limits. But then that all changed on the 1st July 2007, when it became illegal to smoke in enclosed public places and workplaces in England, including work vehicles, hire cars and public transport. 

It is only since that date that you significantly noticed the difference in these public places. Before then people sort of got used to the smell of and the clouds of smoke present in these venues. But then all of a sudden, smoke free areas. One really big difference that was very pleasant.

What would the new proposed smoking ban mean to me? Well, not a lot really. I must admit, it doesn’t bother me if I see someone smoking outside a public place, like a pub beer garden. Their choice and all that. What smokers spend their money on in enjoying a legally available occasion is their business is my view. In fact, smoking outside was less of an inconvenience to me than people vaping in a public place. But again, just my opinion.

Last Orders For Cigarettes – What Next?

Who knows is the short answer. The pros and cons and eccentricities of some smokers (for a while, back in the 80’s, a pal of mine would only smoke Gold Leaf cigarettes lit by a Swan Vesta match. Bonkers? The Swan Vesta bit was, but it was his preferred choice) has long been off my radar really.

No doubt, if the Government do go down that particular route, the decision will be met with support and objections and even resistance no doubt.

Whatever the decision it won’t effect my memories of my own experiences and the shock and horror of witnessing the price increase of a £1 a packet. Happy days? I’ll let you decide.

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Thanks for visiting my Chester Lifestyle website and thanks for reading my latest blog post – Last Orders For Cigarettes. A significant change to our lifestyles maybe? Who knows, time will tell. 

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