'I'm turning 100 - I'll never stop smoking 40 cigarettes a day or drinking buckets of tea'

'I'm turning 100 - I'll never stop smoking 40 cigarettes a day or drinking buckets of tea' Margaret Ham, from Basingstoke, is turning 100 this week, but has vowed she will not stop smoking, eating marmalade or drinking buckets of tea with Gold Top milk A woman just days away from her 100th birthday smokes 40 cigarettes a day and "won't be stopping anytime soon", her family has said, as she credits the proven deadly habit to her longevity. Margaret Ham, 99, will turn 100 on June 27, and has claimed she is only reaching the milestone birthday due to a combination of "marmalade and 40 cigarettes a day". The near-centenarian smokes between 20 to 40 times per day, but still "hobbles and potters" around her home independently despite her old age. The great-grandma from Basingstoke, who also drinks buckets of Yorkshire tea, has never stopped despite the habit's well-known health risks, and also enjoys a range of other indulgencies. Rachael Matthews, 47, said her grandma has "never stopped and won't be stopping anytime soon" after vowing: "I'm just going to keep going!" She said: "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." Rachael added that the gran decided to plough on with her lifestyle choices after her mum sadly died at age 52 "after trying a health kick". She said: "It's pretty ironic because my mum 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!" "But it is remarkable she's made it to 100 in my opinion - so let's celebrate it." Rachael goes over to check on her grandma daily, and the pair spend every Sunday together sharing dinner at her home. Margaret also adores spending time with her great-granddaughter Megan, 23. Margaret was born at her grandmother's home in Bristol in 1926 where she grew up through the war. Rachael said: "Apparently all of the neighbours were very jealous of the bomb shelter she had as it was one of the deepest and the biggest on their row of houses. "She remembers seeing a bomber plane coming over really really low one day and crashing not far from where she lived and described it as very frightening." Margaret later went on to join the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), established in 1939, when she was around 18. She served for two years and then moved to Kilburn, where she met her future husband and had two children, Rachael's Auntie Linda, and her mum, Sheila. The family then went onto live in Basingstoke to live near Sheila and Margaret. Rachael is asking that people send cards to her address where she will pass them on to her nan in order to keep the surprise. She is asking well‑wishers to address them to “Margaret” or “NanNan” and post them to 35 Borodin Close, Basingstoke, RG22 4EN.