Deadly habit earns smoker a new truck

Smoking may be dangerous to your health, but for one Caye Caulker man a bad habit has earned him a brand new pickup truck. Jacqueline Woods has the story.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Forty-eight year old Emmanuel Gabourel, a carpenter and resident of Caye Caulker Village says it took him five packs of cigarettes to win the Caribbean Tobacco Company?s grand prize… a brand new 2006 Toyota Hilux pickup. Gabourel explains why he describes the experience as one of disappointment that quickly turned into sheer joy.

Emmanuel Gabourel, Winner, CTC Hilux Raffle
?Actually when my common-law wife found it, she didn?t find the right ticket right, she found the one seventy-three and then afterwards a guy told her that she missed it by one. So I came home from the shop and she told me about it and I told here there are more tickets in the draw, you know. And she went and search and found the ticket and she said her heart started beating when she find the ticket and she called me on the phone and said, ?You won!? I said, ?What?? She said, ?You won the vehicle!? I said, ?No problem when I come home, I check.?

The raffle was a promotion to boost sales. CTC general manager Eric Waight says the response was overwhelming.

Eric Waight
?The raffle was to offer something back to the community who have been supportive of us over the years. One of our associate companies, Belize Diesel, is the local representative for Toyota vehicles and we decided to offer the 2006 Hilux, it is the two point five litre engine. The raffle took the form of?in an effort to promote a bit of sales that have been in a bit of a slump recently.?

Jacqueline Woods
?Well congratulations are certainly in order, but I guess what everybody wants to know is, are you going to take this nice vehicle out to Caye Caulker??

Emmanuel Gabourel
?Actually I would like to do that, but the island is so small and you know we don?t want much more heavy traffic like this?a vehicle like this out there because it would just ruin the streets you know. So I will just leave it right here and use it now and then or maybe for sale.?

The vehicle is worth fifty thousand dollars. Jacqueline Woods for News Five.