CHARLOTTE - A Charlotte man broke the world's record for breaking a New Year's resolution.
It took Saul Morton only a fraction of a second to break his resolution to quit smoking.
"No sooner had he told us he was quitting smoking than he lit up a Marlboro red and said he would try again next year," his friend Tabitha King said during a New Year's party. "He bought gum, patches and Chantix. What a waste of money."
King said the lighting of the cigarette occurred just a few seconds after he declared himself smoke-free for the rest of his life.
The previous record was set by an inmate in New Zealand who resolved never to get in another knife fight and 10 seconds later stuck his cellmate in the lower chest with a shank.
"I guess I wasn't ready to quit smoking," Morton said as he sucked down a cigarette during a drunken party at a friend's house in Concord. "I feel sort of bad for being so weak but that cigarette sure tasted good with my Jack and Coke."
Morton said he would try again next year, maybe sooner. "I really need to quit," he said lighting a Marlboro with one he was about extinguish. We'll see how it goes."
The Office of Resolutions Archives said about five in 100 people are actually successful in keeping their resolutions.
