It costs him £400 a month, gives him a hacking cough, turns his teeth yellow - and comes with a multitude of serious health risks. But reporter Sam Lennon just can't kick the habit.

Today, on No Smoking Day, he tells of his struggles to quit after four decades of puffing cigarettes...

It's like the madness of bashing your head against a brick wall and each time hoping for a different result.

The gross coughs in the morning, the shortness of breath, the staggering amount it costs, the sapping of quality of life and the risk of an early demise.

And there's also the social leprosy in the eyes of some.

Yet still I puff about 30 cigarettes a day, a habit I have had since the 1980s.

So why such a kamikaze lifestyle?

Well, why do alcoholics keep pickling their liver? Why do heroin users keep shooting up?

What I have in common with these people is pure addiction.

The only difference is mine doesn't involve making a fool of myself, or being arrested for being disorderly. Neither do I have to pay for the habit by breaking into houses or stealing from cars.

No, you can pay within the law, whatever the cost. I turned pale when my gas bill was £300 for one month this winter.

But I haven't flinched at paying £400 a month for cigarettes - cheaper brands are just under £10 for a packet of 20.

"So why do I carry on playing Russian roulette?"

Most people start by their late teens and while they are young their bodies are strong enough to cope. At that age cancer and heart disease are problems that may or may not happen for decades and the excuse anyway is: "You've got to die of something."

Actually it can happen sooner than you think. The actor John Cazale (from The Godfather and The Deer Hunter) was a smoker and died of lung cancer aged 42. The same happened to Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys at the age of 51.

So why do I carry on playing Russian roulette?

It's a cycle that in all this time I have not been able to break.

I became much healthier during eight months of furlough in 2020 during the pandemic, drastically cutting down on beer and having much more time for hillwalking. So my weight fell from nearly 20st to under 16st. But I still wasn't able to stop smoking.

When I have colds I develop the most grotesque coughs and I swear blind I will give up. When I am better I have the self-deception of: "Oh well, it's not doing me so much harm at the moment so I'll carry on."

My dentist, seeing the state of my yellowed teeth, suggested I should quit and I told her: "The Virgin Mary couldn't stop me." It may need some divine intervention.

For most the habit begins by experimentation, then being a "casual smoker" and then the nicotine addiction creeps up and overtakes.

I tried my first ever cigarettes while I was drunk on a night out with friends at the age of 18 in July 1982. Something possessed me to buy a packet from a dance hall vending machine.

One of our group was trying to give up and was furious with me.

"I even carried on while having bronchitis in the summer of 1999..."

First he lectured me on what the habit does to you and then said: "I'm going to take you running tomorrow and if you don't keep up I'll thump you."

He then told me to hand over the packet to another in our group who didn't smoke.

I remember that second guy holding his hand out for it - like a teacher trying to confiscate from the naughty schoolboy. But I refused to give it to him.

I'd finished the entire packet by next day and forgot about smoking.

Then at Christmas 1982, during a student vacation job at Selfridges in London, my manager gave me a box of 50 cigarettes as a gift.

Even then it took me three months to finish it.

Once again I forgot the fags until the summer of 1984, when I would take the occasional one when I was drunk.

During 1985, after leaving university, it gradually crept up on me until that December, which became the first month I puffed every single day. I was 21 then and it has been like that ever since.

I even carried on while having bronchitis in the summer of 1999.

Yet, strangely, I couldn't stop under the best influences.

For 10 years, until I was 43, I was in a football group and admired the other guys who were sharp, funny and confident.

They were nearly all anti-smoking. Either it never appealed to them or they hated it because of the smell and harmful effects. They took pride in their physical fitness.

Sometimes they took me to task, like after an evening match when I doubled up in a violent coughing fit.

At the pub later one of them said: "Sam, you gotta stop smoking."

Another said: "Yeah, listening to you on that pitch tonight..."

I can still remember the way he shook his head in despair.

The ban on smoking in enclosed public places began in the UK on July 1, 2007. One of the lads had a single-word reaction: "Result."

This has saved others from passive smoking, which was needed.

A high-profile victim was the TV star Roy Castle, a non-smoker who died of lung cancer in 1994, aged 62. He blamed catching the disease on inhaling the fumes while performing in smoky clubs.

But many of us smokers were not steered into giving up by the 2007 ban and have simply adapted by stepping outside for a drag.

I have tried nicotine patches and gum, e-cigarettes and vapes but I have not taken to any of them.

But I would encourage people trying to quit not to be put off by my failure. Many have succeeded with little or no difficult withdrawal symptoms.

Don't be disheartened by not succeeding in your attempts as you can keep trying. The writer Samuel Beckett once said: "Tried, failed, tried again, failed better."

But beware that you can lapse if you do succeed. A friend of mine gave up for a year, then in a moment of madness took one cigarette and was soon hooked again.

The best advice I can give - never start!

The stark reality of what smoking does to your body

Today is the UK's No Smoking Day - an annual health awareness day to help those addicted to give it up.

The first was in 1984 and it is now on the second Wednesday of each March.

Research after the 2009 campaign found that one in 10 quit on No Smoking Day.

The campaign was started by a charity of the same name and in 2011 merged with the British Heart Foundation.

The dangers of smoking are well-publicised, but it's worth reflecting on the damage it does.

The NHS says it causes 70% of lung cancer cases but also cancer of other parts of the body including the mouth, throat, larynx, oesophagus, bladder, bowel, cervix, kidney, liver, stomach and pancreas.

Smoking also damages your heart and circulation, increasing your risk of illnesses such as coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, damaged blood vessels and damaged arteries supplying blood to your brain.

It harms your lungs in other ways, leading to conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes bronchitis and emphysema, plus pneumonia.

The habit can also worsen or prolong the symptoms of respiratory conditions such as asthma, or infections such as the common cold.

It can also cause impotence in men.

What happens if you ditch the habit?

If you quit this is how your body heals after your last cigarette.

The NHS website says that after 20 minutes your pulse rate returns to normal.

After eight hours: Harmful carbon monoxide in your blood halves and oxygen levels are recovering.

After 48 hours: All carbon monoxide goes, your lungs are clearing out mucus and your senses of taste and smell improve.

After 72 hours: Your energy increases and you breathe easier as your bronchial tubes start to relax.

Two to 12 weeks: Your circulation improves so blood pumps through to your heart and muscles better.

One year: Your risk of heart attack halves.

Three to nine months: Your lung function increases by up to 10% so coughing, wheezing and breathing problems are fading.

10 years: Risk of lung cancer death is halved.

The best ways to quit smoking

The NHS website lists way to quit such as through nicotine vaping, which is far less harmful.

It explains that nicotine, which is the addictive part, is relatively harmless but the damage is from the 7,000-plus toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke.

There is also nicotine replacement therapy in the form of gum, patches, spray and inhaler and prescription tablets.

Among the tips offered by the NHS are:

• List reasons to stop.
• Tell people you're quitting to get encouragement and support.
• Have a plan if you are tempted to smoke.
• List your smoking triggers and how to avoid them.
• Keep cravings at bay by keeping busy.
• Exercise away the urge.

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation deals with smoking cessation in our county. It has a section called One You with a Kent Stop Smoking Service.

It offers weekly support from a specialist adviser, access to prescription products and behavioural support to strengthen your motivation.

It lists group and one to one sessions and Personal Quit Plans full of tips and support.

To get help telephone 0300 123 1220, text ‘quit’ to 87023 or fill in a fast referral form.

For more details visit kentcht.nhs.uk/one-you-kent/one-you-smokefree/

To anyone taking that vital step today to give up smoking - good luck!

Have you succeeded in quitting smoking? Comment below or email Sam