A former 50 cigarettes a day man has vowed he will never smoke again after suffering a severe heart attack at the age of 53.

Ken Richardson, of Main Street, Escrick, was completely hooked and spending £100 a week on his favourite Embassy Regal.But the self-confessed tobacco addict has not touched a cigarette for three weeks after being rushed into York District Hospital with severe chest pains.

After seven days in hospital, he is now back home with a timely warning on national No Smoking Day for any youngsters thinking of lighting up. He said: "My advice is don't even think about it. It's not only bad for your pocket, even more importantly it's bad for your health.

"I used to cough non-stop for half an hour every morning before going to work, but I was so hooked I couldn't kick the habit."Mr Richardson was taken ill while working at a stone quarry at Malton.

He is now on tablets and special exercises, is off work, and cannot drive for at least another two months.

In excruciating pain and hardly able to breathe, his addiction was so strong he even asked his wife, Elaine, for a last cigarette before getting into the ambulance. The father-of-three said he started smoking, like most kids, behind the bike sheds at school at the age of eight.

By the time he was 17, he was on 20 a day and for the last four years has been on 50 a day. He said: "I have vowed never to touch another cigarette, both for my sake and my family's sake.

"I've already stopped coughing, food tastes a lot better, and the house smells a lot fresher."

Meanwhile, firefighters from York have backed No Smoking day by declaring the fire station a "smoke- free zone" and warn of the risks of major fires caused by smoking materials.

Jenny McMillan, of the North Yorkshire health promotion service, said: "Many factors contribute to someone deciding that it is time to give up smoking. Perhaps the fact that they are putting the lives of others such as family and friends at risk from the danger of a serious fire... might be just the motivation they need."

* Smokers have launched a nationwide campaign to pressure the government into slashing tobacco tax. Acomb man Robert Weldon, a member of the Fair Cigarette Tax Campaign, said: "Adult smokers more than pay their way; we contribute more than £10b a year in tobacco tax, and we want an end to these greedy increases which hit smokers on low incomes the hardest. Now is the time for adult smokers to stand up for their rights."

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