I’ve disliked smoking for as long as I can remember, so I’m all in favour of any measures to cut it back or stop it all together.

My dad smoked when I was a child. I clearly remember that both he and it stunk, horribly.  

His fingers were always stained from the nicotine and so were the walls near to where he sat. He rolled his own cigarettes and would even do it whilst driving his car!

I can remember the fug in the car when we went on long journeys, it was horrible. He would get his dog ends out of the ashtray, open them up to use the unsmoked tobacco in another roll-up, gross.

What really put me off was one Sunday mum was dishing up a roast and accidentally knocked a full ashtray all over freshly served plates of food. It was absolutely horrible.

I can also remember the old public information films about people falling sleep at night with a fag on and their house catching fire. I was paranoid it would happen to us.

Consequently, I’ve never smoked, I’ve never even put a cigarette to my mouth, that is unless you count the sweet ones we used to buy as a child.

As I got older some of my peers began to smoke but it just never appealed to me, it just didn’t seem cool. Later in life I even avoided potential girlfriends who smoked, it would be like kissing an ashtray.

Going to pubs, clubs and restaurants, even aeroplanes I’d come away stinking of smoke and would have passively smoked a few myself.

I for one was glad when the smoking indoors ban came in. It meant I could enjoy a pint or eat my meal without breathing in someone else’s second-hand smoke. I didn’t come home wreaking of tobacco.

I know lots of people say it was the beginning of the end for our pubs, but that was happening anyway. With cheap booze readily available anywhere, people were voting with their pockets. It was and is simply cheaper to drink at home.

Pubs have had to change and adapt and those that do will survive. Those that are stuck in the past won’t.

The Labour government now wants to go even further by banning smoking in some outdoor places. Some say that’s an infringement on human rights, I say good luck to them.   

Today only 12% of the population smoke and that number is falling. 80,000 people a year die through smoking related diseases like cancer and heart disease. Why would you actively want to shorten your life? I’ve never understood that. Life is fragile enough without potentially shortening your life expectancy through smoking.   

As the CEO of Cancer Support Suffolk, I wholeheartedly support what the government is doing. We see first-hand what can happen to people later in life who’ve smoked. We know the dangers now, we didn’t back in the day. S let’s do what we can to wean people off fags and in the case of the young discourage them from starting in the first place.

It's not easy. Nicotine is an addictive drug so we need to support people to pack in smoking. It’s never too late to stop. Think of the money you’d save! Your GP can help, there’s nicotine gum and patches or perhaps vaping but in my opinion that’s even more anti-social. The times I’ve breathed in some else’s second hand vape and nearly choked; I think it’s just as gross. I see more and more young people vaping now which isn’t without risks too.

I hope one day we can live in a smoke free and healthier world and I’m sure these proposals will help that day come closer.  

Mark Murphy is CEO of Cancer Support Suffolk