Ready to kick some butt?
CHENNAI: My uncle’s death proved to be the turning point of my life. He was addicted to smoking which resulted in his death. I stopped smoking. This trauma made me realise the importance of family,” says 23-year-old Sarvesh Kumar*, who started eating dark chocolates to suppress his urge to smoke. It is hard for anyone addicted to any kind of tobacco to quit. But some Chennaiites took to various activities, and alternatives to go tobacco-free
Varun Nair’s* friends introduced him to smoking. But the addiction made Varun see the trap he was falling into. “I started taking nicotine tablets, going out with my friends who didn’t smoke and kept myself busy in work. So I wouldn’t think of smoking. I started drinking green tea. Initially, I used to smoke and drink daily at night between 9-10. Now, I play badminton with my friends at that time,” says Varun, who quit smoking seeing the deteriorating conditions of a family that lived in his neighborhood. The family of four —father, mother and two daughters — was steeped in misery after the father died due to heart attack, as a result of smoking. “Seeing them, I decided to never smoke again,” he shares.
Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals as well as tar and nicotine. At least 43 of the chemicals in tobacco smoke contribute to a number of cancers like lung, throat, mouth, bladder and kidney and many more. “Over time, you will greatly lower your risk of death, if you quit smoking. I stopped smoking when I realised that my family life is getting affected. My children and my wife were not happy. Their behaviour was not welcoming at all and this made me feel guilty,” says 45-year-old Nitin Reddy*, who now spends time with his family, living a smoke-free life.
Quitting is not easy. The urge does resurface. But a supportive family can make the course of action smoother. “I quit smoking eight years ago. My wife was with me at every step. I started smoking when my father died and it became a habit. I couldn’t control or stop. My wife helped me control it step by step. From three packets a week to one a week, and then gradually from three cigarettes to one. Then I completely stopped,” shares 53-year-old Robert Vassou Joseph*.
While family support works for some, for others a gym workout does all the magic. “I quit smoking when I started gymming. Going to the gym helped me get more focused and concentrate on building my body. I slowly understood what my body needed at that stage and I chose to feed my body what it actually wanted that what was actually bringing it down,” shares 36-year-old Naveen Ramaswamy.
(*Names changed on request) (Inputs from Akshaya Motcham, Aswini B, Pooja Anchaliya, Shreya Bafna, Sonali Kothari)
7 million deaths
According to the World Health Organisation, tobacco kills more than seven million people each year. More than six million of those deaths are due to direct tobacco use while around 8,90,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. India is home to 12% of the world’s smokers, where more than 1 million die each year due to tobacco.