Stoptober - Diary of a Quitter: Day 8

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 don't know when it happened, exactly. But sometime in the decade since I took my first puff, the act of lighting up - once the signifier of youthful rebellion and effortless chic - became seriously uncool.

Maybe I notice it more now that I've quit - who's smoking, and who's not. Take a walk down Queen St, and the smokers aren't the trendy millennials with their eclectic fashion, severe haircuts and endless tattoos; they're far too absorbed in their smartphones. No, the smokers are mostly people like me - anachronistic hangovers from a more hedonistic, permissive age; those who missed the wave when the endless churn of culture came crashing past.

People in their 30s or older, in other words.

Read yesterday's entry here.

Look at the stats - the greatest decline in smoking is within the 15- to 19-year-old demographic. They've come of age in an era when tobacco taxes go up predictably, year after year; when public health campaigns endlessly erode the smoking myths; when not one of their idols smokes a cigarette.

Smoking? Not Lorde's future.

Why should it matter? Because this is our future, too. Yes, smokers have been pariahs for some time - but while it used to be cool to be a pariah, it isn't any longer. You can lambaste the millennials for their self-absorption, their tech addictions, their inability to let a single moment go undocumented. But you have to admire their stance against smoking.

For premature curmudgeons like me, It's hard to admit. But this time, the kids are right.

The shame many smokers feel when they light up - the shame I used to feel until very recently - is very, very real. Real, because the world has moved on.

It's time to move on too.

To take part in Stoptober, visit www.stoptober.nz

For help quitting, visit Quitline at www.quit.org.nz or phone 0800 778 778