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Home / Lifestyle

Stoptober - Diary of a Quitter: Day 25

Matthew Backhouse
By Matthew Backhouse
Assistant Chief of Staff·NZME.·
24 Oct, 2015 04:00 PM2 mins to read

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Matthew Backhouse smokes his last cigarette before starting Stoptober. Photo / Nick Reed
Matthew Backhouse smokes his last cigarette before starting Stoptober. Photo / Nick Reed

Matthew Backhouse smokes his last cigarette before starting Stoptober. Photo / Nick Reed

Matthew Backhouse
Opinion by Matthew Backhouse
Senior reporter, NZ Herald
Learn more
Journalist Matthew Backhouse chronicles his efforts to quit smoking for Stoptober in a daily diary.

I started the weekend with the biggest test yet of my resolve to quit - a smoky, raucous cocktail bar. I managed to come out on top - but only just.

My son stayed the night with his auntie and two older cousins, so my partner and I decided to head out for dinner and drinks. Nothing too fancy - just a local restaurant with a modest wine list and good, honest food.

Fast forward two hours and I was, as they say in Palmerston North, totally maggot.

Read yesterday's entry here.

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We had a couple of wines before we headed out, then a couple more over dinner. But what really pushed me into tipsy territory was a series of cocktails at a charming local establishment.

The first cocktail came with an edible flower - a pansy, if you must know - which another patron suggested was a serious test to one's masculinity. But the drink itself was enough to grow hair on anyone's chest. I ended up staying for another three cocktails - a mint julep, a whiskey sour and some ill-advised concoction involving bourbon and vermouth.

By that point, I was bleary-eyed and very much in the danger zone of trying to scab a ciggie. My cravings were made even worse by the smoke billowing into the bar from the courtyard area outside. As the evening wore on, the whole bar smelled like smoke. And I was intoxicated to the point of dis-inhibition - nothing scandalous, but you wouldn't usually find me singing along to TLC in public when I'm sober.

Somehow, I made it through the night without smoking. And I even managed to have a really great time. Now that I know I can do it, the next time will be easier.

To take part in Stoptober, visit www.stoptober.nz

For help quitting, visit Quitline at www.quit.org.nz or phone 0800 778 778

Discover more

Lifestyle

NZ smoking rates decrease - but not as fast as Australia

27 Sep 09:15 PM
Opinion

Stoptober - Diary of a Quitter: Day 1

01 Oct 07:06 AM
Opinion

Stoptober - Diary of a Quitter: Day 2

02 Oct 05:50 AM
Opinion

Stoptober - Diary of a Quitter: Day 3

02 Oct 04:00 PM
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