I don't have to sit next to someone smoking at a restaurant or even put up with second-hand smoke at most parks and reserves.
The only law missing now is one that bans smoking in cars with children inside.
Talk to a smoker and most of them want to quit. They don't want to be stinky, poor or risk death. But still, the lure of dragging on a cigarette after a meal or while enjoying a drop of your favourite tipple is too great.
I gave up more than 10 years ago and, for me, it was purely a financial decision.
Three years prior my 53-year-old father, who smoked like a train, died suddenly from a stroke. My mum hinted the only good thing that could come out of it was making me realise smoking could kill me.
It didn't. I smoked more.
At the time my packet of Pall Mall menthols cost $10. Admittedly, I had become a heavy smoker, regularly burning through eight packets a week. That was $80.
Nowadays, thanks to last Friday's latest price rises, the same packet of 20s cost $22.10. If I hadn't quit, I'd be paying $176.80 weekly. Yikes.
My decision to stop came after an overseas trip. I'd enjoyed smoking the cheap duty-free cigarettes and forced my husband and friends to bring back duty-free cartons with us back into New Zealand. I was set for a few months.
But, as the last packet in the last carton came around, I knew finding $80 a week again was going to be hard work. It was then time to give up.
I went cold turkey and I'm so glad I've managed to stay smokefree.
If you're a smoker and are wanting to quit, good luck. You won't regret it.
But if you're content to spend your money on something that makes you happy, go for it.
