Stoptober. The success story.

Well no actually. I didn’t smoke for the equivalent of approximately ten days.

Then again I’ve always found that either the ciggie goes out when I’m trying to sleep or that  Mrs FE gets seriously annoyed at me pissing on the bed sheets to put the fire out.

Joking aside there is the law of unintended consequences.

This is what the Tobacco Control industry ahs to say.

Stoptober, backed by Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation, hopes a united effort will help many of England's eight million smokers to quit successfully.

Research shows people who stop smoking for 28 days are five times more likely to stay smoke-free.

Smokers who join Stoptober are given free support to help them quit, including a mobile phone app that can monitor quitters' progress and offer daily motivational texts to keep them on track.

Ok, Those week willed people might stop and save money.

However this could derail the Tobacco Control Industry’s desire to smash those evil Tobacco companies.

But perhaps smokers looking for somewhere sensible to stick their new cash - which would have been spent on fags - could invest it in tobacco companies' shares?

Ethical? Maybe not, but tobacco has long been recognised as a solid performer in terms of gaining returns, particularly during times of economic stress - typical returns range from 7% to 16%.

Charles Stanley's tobacco analyst, Tina Cook, told Huffington Post UK that tobacco companies make for a good investment as its strong industry pricing power has continued to more than offset the smaller volumes of sales despite the challenging economic conditions

"The sector boasts strong defensive qualities, global reach, and secure dividends underpinned by robust cash flows," she added.

"A recent surge in news flow around tighter tobacco legislation in mature markets has been negative, witnessed by recent share price underperformance, but growth continues to be fuelled by increased trading in emerging markets."

FE larfs like a drain at the irony of the situation.

I actually ordered one of their quit packages to see what was in it. A propaganda leaflet and an abysmal CD. Full of half truths and wishful thinking.

Almost as bad as my dentist who gave me a give up smoking, self hypnotism memory stick which urged me to quit. In the end I had to smoke twice as much to purge the droning liturgy from my head.