Former top banker goes to deserted island to quit smoking

Retired senior banker Geoff Spice is to live on a deserted island for a month in a last ditch attempt to quit smoking.

By Simon Johnson

Mr Spice began smoking 43 years ago as a paperboy, when he stole some cigarettes from the shop where he was working.

Mr Spice, 56, from Surrey, will become a castaway on Sgarabhaigh, a 40-acre uninhabited island in the Outer Hebrides.

The former managing director for NM Rothschild, the top London investment bank, will have to camp as there are no houses.

Sgarabhaigh, which means Cormorant Island in Gaelic, also has no electricity or water supply, so he will rely for fires from driftwood and a camp stove and bottled water.

He does not want to fish for food, but the island is also free of rabbits. However, there are plenty of sheep to keep him company.

Mr Spice, who smokes 30 cigarettes per day, said: "I'm a bit apprehensive now that the time is almost here about spending the month on the island by myself but I'm determined to see it through.

"Today I'm going to have one last cigarette and give the rest of the packet to my wife and get on the boat to the island.

"This is my last chance. I've been smoking 30 a day as usual but I think I can crack the habit.

"I am taking plenty of midge repellent though ironically they say that smoking helps keep the insect away."

To fight boredom, he hopes to learn to play the guitar and will take with him an iPod that contains the text of 120 books.

He will take with him a mobile phone and a computer, both powered by a photo voltaic solar cell. It will also have a wind-up handle as a back up to generate electricity.

Dave Hill, the island's owner, has arranged for Mr Spice to be dropped off on Sgarabhaigh and picked up a month later.

"If he rings to say he cannot stand it without a cigarette we will ignore it until it gets to three calls. He must have time to reflect on his decision," said Mr Hill.

Mr Spice began smoking 43 years ago as a paperboy, when he stole some cigarettes from the shop where he was working.

He has previously tried nicotine patches and gum, a self-help book and going cold turkey in an effort to kick the habit, but nothing worked.

The former banker first considered staying on an uninhabited island a decade ago, when he was living in Australia, but was worried about the spiders and snakes there. He found Sgarabhaigh by Googling 'Uninhabited Scottish Islands'.

"I will miss my wife Elena, my children and my family very much but I understand that my mobile phone will work on the island so we can speak that way," Mr Spice said.

"I'm hoping that my plan will work, I'll stop smoking and my month on the island may lead to many years of extra life that I'll be able to spend with them."