While everybody cries boo-hoo about how tobacco kills and the government isn’t taking a strong enough stand, the bottom line is if you don’t decide to stop, nobody can do much. So instead of wondering how to stop smoking, maybe we should change our focus to why people take to it in the first place.
Pointing out that most people take to the habit when they are young, Dr Diana Montiero, director of the Hyderabad Academy of Psychology says, “It is rebellious behaviour. The fun is in doing something they are not supposed to be doing. The problem arises when it becomes an addiction and that happens very quickly.”
Agreeing, Anurag Sharma, Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, says, “For kids, there is a ‘cool’ factor attached to smoking. There’s a lot of peer pressure and it soon becomes a habit." A smoker for 10 years himself, Sharma managed to kick the habit one fine day. “When a gentleman I knew who was trying to dissuade me from the habit, passed away, I just didn’t feel like smoking anymore.” Having been cigarette-free for over two decades now, he opines that it just requires making up one’s mind. “Your mind must accept the fact. Once it does, you won’t even have any cravings.”
Fellow former smoker, Raghu Kumar hasn't smoked in two years. A post graduate student in the city, he managed to do so by disassociating with smokers. “When I joined college, I maintained that I wasn’t a smoker. Automatically, I was excluded from the group and it helped me from relapsing. It helps to isolate yourself from smokers when trying to quit.”
Vivek Ganti is another success story. “My motivating factor to smoke was my girlfriend, who also smokes. When she went on a vacations to the US, it became easier for me to quit.” An ad man, he also spins an interesting perspective to the habit. “Smoking has a lot to do with imagery. Like how you seen toned physiques splashed everywhere and aspire for it, people who smoke influence their peers. Also when there’s that one person trying to quit in the group, other will dissuade him because of their guilty conscience.”
As the age group progresses, it’s no more about the peer pressure but has more to do with dealing with stress. Says Dr Montiero, “These habits are coping strategies. Physiologically, the body craves a smoke and psychologically you become dependent. Giving up the haven is challenging.”
The health benefits when you quit are immediate. According to Dr M V T Krishna Mohan, a consultant Medical Oncologist at the Indo American Cancer Institute, quitting gives an immediate boost to blood circulationand breathing becomes increasingly easier.
