It's never to late to Packet, in. Yeh you now what I mean? that box you look at after heavy night on tiles. The one that smells really great when you open it but leaves you feeling depressed when its empty because you need another one.

Oh here we go another reformed smoker sharing the meaning of happiness after giving up the sticks. Well no not actually because I am not one of those super humans who flicked the last fag in the bin at 12am on New Years Eve. Like many my first green drag was in the lane at the back of High School on the way home. The one they all call smokers lane. It was back in 1970, those were the days hey. Tried every brand I could lay my hands on. From gold tips to those French fags that tasked like you had a gob full of charcoal. Twelve years old Bru and I was hooked.

Never forget the pride at 15 telling my mates that I could smoke in front of my parents, well I mean, they did to it was acceptable. Then Dad decided he had had enough of the grey skies of Warrington and dragged us off to the promise land down south where fags were a fraction of the price and came in boxes of thirty. Think I smoked two boxes on the plane. I mean what harm could they do? I was the school Athletics champ, I was a great swimmer and could climb any hill without the slightest puff, even with a few puffs.

Its funny how addicted you can become. I went to one of the toughest outward bound courses in the world, Velt and Vlie they called it, I had other names for it. I was 16 at the time and felt like a tank. Didn't touch a fag for 5 long weeks. Must of smoked a packet for every week I missed on the train back. You see when you are young you can get away with it. Yep you can watch them pull a tar soaked lung out of a corpse on TV while you suck it in and it doesn't bother you, why should it your fit and healthy right. Well roll the clock forward twenty three years and twenty odd thousand packets later and we shall see.

Thirty-five I was, it was my first Run Swim Run of my six week Lifeguards Proficiency course, this should be easy I mean I had passed the Swimming test in the pool, yeh should be a doddle. Run 200m Swim about 400m Run another 200m in under ten minutes, sea was calm at least it looked that way, Baywatch here I come.

As I reached the Lifeguard sitting on his paddle ski on the backline by which time I was doing backstroke as my lungs had more water in them than air I will never forget the words that came from the Springbok Lifesaving Manager who just happened to be the president of our club as I struggled around him on that day which would change my life forever. "I think you should stop smoking mate" I smiled back at him as that was all I could manage. The trip back to the beach which might as well have been Australia was a gasp which remains imprinted in my ROM to this day.

When I downed my first pint that Friday Night I looked long and hard at that box which had for so long been my friend but was now my enamy. There were six of us in the beginning I was the Bullet the others all in their teens. Three dropped out I stayed the course. I was in Lifeguards for six years and had some great times all without that Packet. I will say this though, there have been times when that sent really gets up my nostrils and I've found myself reaching for that stick but that was as a result of my other enamy which I haven't quite kicked yet.

So if you are where I was and would like to quit but just can't seem to get motivated, change your lifestyle and your lifestyle will change you.