4 min readJun 1, 2024 12:51 PM IST
First published on: May 31, 2024 at 11:25 AM IST
Anandakrishnan S, 29, started smoking six years ago when he first took up an IT job in Kochi purely as a social ritual. He saw his friends and colleagues take smoke-breaks during the gruelling two or three day-long shifts that they all had to do as a new project was being rolled out. “Coffee can only take you so far when you have to be at your desk for a long time. So, I started going out with my smoker colleagues and developed the habit while bonding with them. Now, even though I do not work in the IT sector, I haven’t been able to stop,” he says.
He tried quitting in earnest after he spit up blood while coughing once. “I was scared. I do take breaks for a few days every once in a while. But then the craving comes back. It has become a social ritual — it is a way for me to get off the desk in the middle of the work day and take some time for myself,” he says. He is not an aberration. Less than 10 per cent of smokers who try to quit every year are able to do so, according to US’ National Cancer Institute.
Challenges of giving up smoking
A lot of youngsters use various methods of nicotine replacement therapy, including patches, sprays, gum and lozenges, that can help in killing intense momentary cravings. For a surer way to kick the habit, there are prescription drugs like bupropion and varenicline.
Also for users, it is difficult to give up smoking when they revisit the same places they smoked or chewed tobacco most often at, such as at parties, pubs and cafes. Sometimes, a stressful situation could also be a trigger. Experts recommend that you find out your triggers and have a plan in place to avoid them or get through them without using tobacco. In fact, behavioural patterns linked to smoking are the biggest reason why you get back into the habit.
Next time you have a craving, don’t give in and will yourself to go far away from a packet or cigarette kiosk. Go out into a public smoke-free zone, chew on a sugarless gum or nuts (they keep your jaw engaged like smoking), sip a juice. Or simply try a short-burst activity like a run, a walk, a few wall squats or chair exercises.
And whatever you do, do not be tempted to smoke “just one.” That just prolongs your addiction.
Why e-cigarattes do not work
While e-cigarettes had been promoted as a tool to stop smokers, studies have shown that most either switch from cigarettes to e-cigarettes or continue using both. While e-cigarettes do away with the tar associated with burning a traditional cigarette, they still release several chemical ingredients whose impact on health is not known yet. There is emerging research that it may be bad for your heart and lungs.
Anandakrishnan says: “I thought I was craving nicotine, so I tried switching to a vape. The problem was I could use the vape at my desk, so I was using it more frequently and I was still craving a smoke break.”
Health cost of smoking
Tobacco kills nearly eight million people globally. It is known to increase the risk of heart diseases, stroke and lung cancer. It also triggers respiratory diseases such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Other than that, it is also known to affect fertility. And, in pregnant women, it can lead to premature delivery, stillbirth and low-birth weight babies. In India, nearly 27 per cent of the adult population consumes tobacco — chewing and smoking.
The recently released health ministry report on tobacco control in India has a 2040 vision document to create a ‘Tobacco Free Future Generation’, where those born after 2022 would not be exposed to tobacco advertising or promotion, where all new tobacco products will be banned and there would be a move towards plain packaging.
Tobacco use in adults
(Source: Report on Tobacco Control in India)
Tobacco kills nearly eight million people globally. It is known to increase the risk of heart diseases, stroke and lung cancer. (File) 
(Source: Report on Tobacco Control in India)
Share
