Stoptober - Diary of a Quitter: Day 25

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

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.

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