Ed Sheeran goes cold turkey after quitting smoking

Singer Ed Sheeran has given up smoking after worrying that he was getting to "the point of no return" with his nicotine habit.

The Thinking Out Loud star took up the bad habit as a teenager and has continued to puff away on and off for years but during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Tuesday (10Nov15), Ed revealed he has gone all out to quit.

"Yeah, it was cold turkey," he said. "I realised that I'd been smoking for 10 years and that's bad. I started smoking when I was younger and I'd always say, like 'I'm gonna quit. I'm gonna quit.' And then, 'Oh well, I haven't been smoking for that long. It's been, what, four years like that...' and then when it got to 10 years, I was like, 'Oh... I'm probably getting to the point of no return here."

Ed gave up cigarettes a week and a half ago and is proud that he's made it through the tricky first 10 days. Having previously given up cigarettes and alcohol for a whole year back in 2011, he knows he has the willpower not to succumb to the cravings.

"The reason I kind of liked smoking so much was just it was a routine," he explained. "Do a soundcheck, have a cigarette, do a gig, have a cigarette, have food, have a cigarette and now I'm not going to be touring and working for a while so (it was time)."

During his chat with Ellen, the 24 year old also discussed his latest tattoo - Ed shared a picture of a lion's face across his chest on social media earlier this year. The image was met with horror by many of his fans, but Ed is pleased with the finished result.

"That (picture) is part way through," he laughed. "When that went up, everyone was like 'it looks so bad'. This is the thing, a lot of people had a go at me for it and that it seems like quite a stupid tattoo but I played the biggest venue you can play in England and I sold it out for three nights - Wembley Stadium. England's national emblem is a lion, and all my tattoos are things I've done in my career, leading to the middle bit, which is the lion. I feel like this is every part of my career put into one and I think it looks cool and I don't really care if anyone else does."