Maybe it was the amount of money lost spending on cigarettes all those years? (Not just the money itself, but think of the possible investment returns if it had been invested instead of smoked.)
I used to be a reasonably heavy drinker, then I quit more or less cold turkey, didn't drink a drop for over 6 months, and even though I've now gone back to drinking a bit, I'm very careful now to limit my intake to well within the health guidelines (i.e. no more than one or two a night, no more than a couple of nights a week). Not only has this done good things for my health, it's done great things for my finances.