Smoke Free Session V

Three whole weeks ................. 21 days ............. 0 cigarettes ... £137.29p not spent on cigarettes!

I worked it out today that I have not had a cigarette since Friday 27th April. I have had 21 cigarette free days.

There's an ad campaign here in the UK. There are four posters in it showing two men and two women with a huge fish hook in their faces, tugging at them. It's all about being hooked and I'm so feeling that metaphysical hook tugging at me today.

I wonder why Saturdays seem to be the hardest day? It was tough last Saturday too.

I can't pretend this is easy. The car has just cost me nearly £100 in welding and still needs some £250 more work doing to get it through its MoT this year. And I am just so dying for a cigarette today.

However, I am at least not adding to my financial woes by setting light to my money. I really really wish I had never started ! Stomp STOMP STOMP. There, hissy fit done now. (and I promise I won't muck around with typefaces again.)

I had to really work hard on resisting going into a shop to buy some cigarettes on the way home just now. It just seems to be so tough.

On the plus side, I let the radio wake me up at weekends and was woken this morning by the dulcet southern drawl of ex-US President Jimmy Carter and his discussion on the Middle East and the Blair/Bush disaster that is Iraq. He criticized Blair for supporting Bush in this move.

Yep, it's easy to criticize others and Mr Carter may be more in a position than any of us to be able to lodge valid critique of world affairs at this stage but it was good to be able to hear the criticism. And interesting that his criticism is juxtaposed against the Queen's support of the Blair/Bush effort.

And it was good to stay curled up in bed, listening to it before the demands of bodily needs and a meowing cat meant I had to rise.

I ran for a bus today too and wasn't so badly out of breath for all that. I have air in my lungs at last.

I have to fix in my mind, the benefits.

• I'm richer for not smoking


• I'm healthier for not smoking - I have whiter teeth, my gums are better and my skin is improving. My circulation should be improving some I hope.


• My money is not going to support the profits of cigarette company which not only sells an addictive drug to its customers, but also lies to them about the carcinogenic qualities of the drug and the additives they include in the final product.


• The flat doesn't smell like an ashtray


• My clothes don't smell of cigarette smoke and nor do I.

I am so much better off being smoke free.

I am glad I have got this far.