100-year-old woman shares secret to long life: 40 cigarettes a day and marmalade

A woman turning 100 says the secret to her long life is “marmalade and 40 cigarettes a day.”Margaret Ham, 99, will be celebrating the milestone birthday on Saturday, June 27.Despite still smoking around 20 to 40 cigarettes a day, Margaret “hobbles and potters” around her home independently.Her granddaughter Rachael Matthews, 47, said her grandma had never stopped her habit despite all the health warnings – and also still drinks “Yorkshire Tea by the gallon” every day.She added: “She smokes 20-40 cigarettes a day and has always been a smoker.”“She’s never stopped and won’t be stopping anytime soon.”“Nana likes the strong stuff – Yorkshire Tea with the gold top milk.”“Not your semi-skimmed, we’re talking full-on Jersey full cream.”“I mean what on Earth! A lot of the generation from back then are just made of different stuff.”“She also has butter and marmalade – and the butter has to be about an inch thick.”“She has always been a smoker but has never really drunk much alcohol.”“It’s pretty ironic because my mom sadly passed away when she was just 52 after trying a health kick – and nan was like, ‘well, I’m just going to keep going!'”To celebrate her birthday, Rachael wants as many people as possible to send her grandmother a happy birthday card.The dress shop owner, who runs RachyChic Dress Boutique in Daneshill, Basingstoke, said: “She lives independently and we don’t have a lot of family left, so I want her to be up to her eyeballs in cards!”“Though that is not going to be difficult, as she’s tiny.”“She’s pretty handy with a walking stick, and I am half expecting her to give me a bit of wallop with it when she finds out what I’ve done!” Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.Please provide a valid email.

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