ON the anniversary of the smoking ban, health bosses have been praising the drop in the number of people how are now addicted to the habit.

According to Cancer Research UK the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds in Britain who smoke has fallen to 17 per cent from 26 per cent in 2007 — a record low.

But while the clean air has put some off, there are some in the generation who grew up under the ban who smoke.

Despite being just 15 when the Smoking Legislation came in, Bury Times reporter David Taylor has faced his own battle with cigarettes.

He has now quit, not because of the ban but because of the further legislation crackdowns.

He writes:

I gave up smoking about five weeks ago when shops stopped selling packets of 10 cigarettes as a result of a change in the law.

Paying £10 or more for a packet of 20 cigarettes just seemed like too much money and it was a good excuse to stop there and then.

I wanted to stop because of the potential long-term effects on my health.

I honestly hadn’t noticed any effects on my health, but I was worried what the future might hold if I carried on.

I am aged 25 now and started smoking when I was about 16 or 17, during breaks when I was a sixth-former. I’m embarrassed to say I did it because I thought it was cool (that’s why most teenagers start, I’m sure). And I liked it, so I carried on.

I started smoking more heavily when at university and when I went to live in France for a year as part of my studies.

France has a much better drinking culture than we do in the UK but a much worse smoking culture, I would argue. You don’t see many drunks, but a lot more people smoke than over here, it seems.

I never thought of smoking as anti-social when I was at university, but more and more I am aware that it might be.

Having to go outside every time I wanted a cigarette was anti-social if I was out with only a small group of friends or one other person, for example.

The main reason I have chosen to stop however is because I want to stay healthy for longer.

I use an electronic cigarette for the times when I really want some nicotine, but I have not replaced cigarettes with it in that sense — it is there as a last resort.

It sounds patronisingly simple, but if you want to give up, just stop buying cigarettes.

Think of it like you’re giving up buying cigarettes, not giving up smoking.

If you don’t buy them, you can’t smoke them. Good luck.