Every time I think to quit smoking, I need a cigarette to think about it…

Remember the anti-tobacco advertisement about 25-year-old Mukesh who died of cancer? Do you know anyone who has quit smoking because of that?

Yes, smoking is an ill plaguing the society, but I don’t know how effective it is to have it (an anti-smoking ad) before every damn film.

Everything you don’t want people to do, you can’t use films as an excuse to propagate that. Some anti-smoking ads are simply ineffective, while others actually make youth more likely to light up.

Do you lay awake at night, unable to sleep on account of the voice inside your head telling you how unbelievably fucking stupid you are for smoking? Do you calculate how much money you could save by quitting, over and over again? Do you hate it when people waste the last portion of the cigarettes and throw it? Have you been caught by your friends staring longingly at used cigarette butts on the ground?

Gentlemen, keep reading. Today, you will remember as the day you almost quit smoking…

How does it all start?

I always say, your habits and personality is an average of five people you spend most of your time with. If you come from a family background that favours smoking, it happens more likely than not that you tend to experiment with cigarettes in your early teens.

The influence of friends is very strong in the decision of people to start smoking. When you smoke, certain activities, feelings, and people become linked to your smoking. These may “trigger” your urge to smoke.  Most of the young people assume they will stop before they experience any serious health problems.

Also, all of us are going through shits which are actually small but we make a big deal out of it. Handling any stress boils down to one simple solution- Let me take a drag.  Within no time, you get used to the temporary escape from reality where everything will be alright in that 5-minute break; turns out it’s a trap.

Why are people so addicted to smoking?
According to National Health services, a cigarette alters the smoker’s brain chemistry changing its mood which people find enjoyable. The changes happen very quickly. When smokers inhale the nicotine, it immediately rushes to the brain where it takes effect. That’s what makes people dependent on it. When they stop, loss of nicotine makes smokers feel anxious, depressed and irritable.

Smokers are more addicted to smoking behaviours than nicotine.

“Every move a smoker makes: the lighting of the cigarette, the inhaling, all the feelings and sensations of it, the whole package becomes highly addictive.

Stress makes you want to smoke. Feeling tired makes you want to smoke. Hearing that it will rain in two weeks makes you want to smoke. Finding every damn reason for the sake of it.

Myth: Smoking isn’t actually calming

There are so many stupid statements given by smokers which are actually contradicting. I have heard people say – It helps them sleep & it also helps them to stay awake.

Understand what that means: The only reason you think smoking is calming is that you’re addicted to smoking. Once you remove the need for nicotine, you no longer need it to feel calm. Who said smokers are calm, anyway? Nobody. Do the math. The “calming effect” of smoking is actually just your addiction to finding momentary fulfilment.

Your body knows perfectly well how to calm itself in other ways.

Is quitting actually so difficult?

India is the second largest tobacco consumer, and third largest tobacco producer, in the world. The current cost of tobacco use in India includes 10 million deaths per year & still counting.

The for-profit industry behind them really wants you thinking to quit is hard.

Fun fact- State Tobacco revenues collected is 50 times the spending done to prevent smoking. So in reality, no effort is made to prevent it, most of these campaigns are a waste and just to show a moral side. The reason for the ineffectiveness of smoking campaign is usually that they are exaggerations, they are boring, you see them very often which reduces their value. Hell, every anti-smoking ad starts by proclaiming how often people relapse, or how hard it is to quit in the first place. It’s not. Quitting isn’t a process — it’s a decision. The answer, it turns out, lies in how you mentally handle quitting.

Why do most of them fail to quit?

The most important reason- I never had the real desire to give it up. I do feel like I can quit at any time, however, I still don’t have that motivation or drive to actually do so.

There’s something about taking a drag of a cigarette that puts me at ease. Yet, I know that physical activity and working out would be easier without it. I know my skin would age better, and the smell would not be in my clothes, and so on. I know all the benefits of quitting. I just haven’t gotten to a point where those prospects outweigh the valued aspects of why I smoke.

A non-profit, foundation for a Smoke-Free World, in their study “The State of Smoking 2018” based on a survey of smokers in 13 nations including India found that 68 per cent of smokers is “well-informed” about the impact of smoking on one’s health.

The second being, I am not a chain smoker & I smoke only a few times for  it to severely affect me. I guess it’s just one of those things where you just assume it will never happen to you. When I grab a cigarette, I am not thinking long-term. I need something quick that is stress-relieving. Let me break one more myth for you- When it comes to smoking cessation, there is no such thing as just one cigarette. They travel in packs.

Also, the third reason why they fail is substitute. Nicotine gum is just like regular gum, except it comes with side effects like dizziness and nausea. And doesn’t give you results.

Is there a solution? (or I am just another asshole whining about the world)

Born & brought up in Gujarat, the only way out is to ban tobacco. (Nah, just kidding).

On a serious note, sometimes we fail because we are afraid to ask for support. This can be especially true when it comes to quitting smoking. For most smokers, quitting smoking is more than just a matter of willpower. If a smoker who is trying to quit has a slip-up, there is often blame & the next time his own friend will hand him a cigarette saying he just says he will quit but he actually won’t.

A cigarette is something which is easily available in plenty & even your parents can’t stop you all the time from having it. We all know the consequences, yet chose to smoke. No one else can give you a reason to quit. If you actually want to quit, ask for help from people around you. Spend more time in the company of non-smokers, if it is difficult for you to say no to your smoker friends.

Now go have your last cigarette. Enjoy it if you can. Then live the rest of your life as a non-smoker.