Pensioner Turns 102, Despite Smoking For 75 Years And Drinking Wine Every Night

'She is a fanatical banana eater, she still eats a couple a day.'

A hardy centenarian has reached the incredible age of 102 - despite drinking and smoking. 

Maysie Strang smoked 20 cigarettes a day for 75 years, but quit in her mid-90s during a stint in hospital. 

But when she got home, she moved onto the Chardonnay.

Yet despite her questionable habits, the centenarian from Glasgow isn’t on any medication. 

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SWNS.com

Son Sandy, 65, said: “The house was a fug of smoke. She was a secretary and was always smoking at her typewriter. 

“It’s absurd thinking that some people who smoke for a while get all these health problems. It is the ultimate paradox. 

“She used to smoke 20 a day right from the age of 16 or 17, right up to when she broke her femur and had to spend five weeks in hospital. 

“When she came out she moved immediately onto the Chardonnay.” 

Maysie now enjoys a glass of wine every evening before she goes to bed. 

Sandy said: “She takes it as a wee indulgence. It is not heavy drinking, it is the reward for the end of the day and she looks forward to it.” 

But Maysie’s smoking habits didn’t sit well with her super healthy husband Alex, who died at the age of 65. 

Sandy said: “He was a PE instructor and smoking was an anathema to him.”

 Despite decades of smoking, Maysie doesn’t have any medical problems. 

“She doesn’t take any pills which is absurd,” Sandy said.

“She’s on no medication at all. There’s not many people at 102 that can say that. That’s as healthy as you can get at that age. 

“She looks a lot less than 102. On a good day she can pass for her late 70s, early 80s.” 

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SWNS.com

Maysie was born two weeks after the First World War began and often quips, “I thought I started it”. 

She worked as an editor’s secretary at the Daily Express in Glasgow for over 10 years, where she developed her love for bananas. 

Sandy said: “She’s mad on bananas. When she was working at the newspaper she was often eating lunch on the hoof, so she used to have a banana. 

“She is a fanatical banana eater, she still eats a couple a day.” 

She then became a secretary at Mellick’s legal firm and later worked at the Southern General hospital. 

Maysie was forced to retire from the hospital as bosses didn’t realise that she was in her 70s. She always loved working in the media the most. 

Sandy said: “She loved the cut and thrust of it all was quite a romantic place to be.” 

Maysie moved to Glenlivet Gardens care home seven years ago where staff love to chat to her. 

Sandy said: “The staff have been fantastic. I think they quite enjoy her as she’s quite spirited.

“There’s quite a lot of people repartee sometimes. She the only centenarian there.” 

12 Undeniable Facts About Smoking
FACT 1(01 of12)
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Every cigarette you smoke reduces your expected life span by 11 minutes. (credit:Jasper White via Getty Images)
FACT 2(02 of12)
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There are roughly 10 million adults who smoke cigarettes in Great Britain. (credit:Bertrand Demee via Getty Images)
FACT 3(03 of12)
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Two-thirds of smokers start before the age 18. (credit:Flying Colours Ltd via Getty Images)
FACT 4(04 of12)
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The proportion of the population who are smokers has decreased since the 1970s. A sixth of the population smoke now, in comparison to nearly half of the adult population smoking in 1974. (credit:Dražen LovriÄ via Getty Images)
FACT 7(05 of12)
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Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds including: carbon monoxide, arsenic, formaldehyde, cyanide, benzene, toluene and acrolein. (credit:murengstockphoto via Getty Images)
FACT 8(06 of12)
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Smoking poses a huge risk to your cardiovascular system.It also steals some of your good cholesterol, increases the risk of clotting and temporarily raises your blood pressure. (credit:Jeffrey Hamilton via Getty Images)
FACT 9(07 of12)
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Immediately after you quit smoking, your lungs and other smoke-damaged organs start to repair themselves. (credit:Oko_SwanOmurphy via Getty Images)
FACT 10(08 of12)
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Smoking is England’s biggest killer. Half of all regular cigarette smokers will eventually be killed by their addiction. (credit:Westend61 via Getty Images)
FACT 11(09 of12)
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100,000 smokers in the UK die every year from smoking related causes. (credit:Shui Ta Shan via Getty Images)
FACT 12(10 of12)
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In 2012-13 the Government earned £12.3 billion in revenue from tobacco tax. (credit:Jasper James via Getty Images)
FACT 13(11 of12)
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Usage of electronic cigarettes has tripled in the past two years. 2.1 million adults in Great Britain now use them. (credit:diego_cervo via Getty Images)
FACT 14(12 of12)
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A report by Dr Robert West of University College London found that e-cigarette use from popular brands is expected to be at least 20 times safer (and probably considerably more so) than smoking tobacco cigarettes. (credit:mangojuicy via Getty Images)