This archive report was first published on 23 October 2019.
Kenyan artist Gilad Milo has spoken out about his past struggles with smoking, revealing that he spent a staggering 20 million shillings on cigarettes over the last 30 years.
Before venturing into music full-time, Gilad worked as an Israeli diplomat. In an interview with Betty Kyallo, he shared his story and the reasons behind his decision to quit smoking.
According to Gilad, he used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day, amounting to 2 packets, for over 30 years. He recalled the struggles he faced, saying, 'Back in the day, if I went up the stairs like we do now, I would be coughing and puffing. It was not a beautiful life.'
Gilad also revealed that his mother played a significant role in his decision to quit smoking. She paid 100,000 shillings for a seminar, which motivated him to calculate how much he had spent on cigarettes. He said, 'I spent approximately 15-20 million on cigarettes. I was not a big drinker, so leaving drinking came easy. Now, I drink juice. It's boring, but you get used to it.'
With the current price of a pack of cigarettes in Israel being around 35-36 shekels, Gilad's spending on cigarettes translates to millions of shillings. He estimated that he spent around 917,610 shillings per year, which amounts to 27,528,300 shillings over 30 years.
Gilad has since released several hit songs, including 'Sema Milele' and 'Unajua' featuring Wendy Kimani. His latest songs are 'Nisamehe' featuring Naiboi, which can be found on YouTube.
