Smoking is bad for my health? How can it be when that macho hunk of a cowboy in that glossy ad not only bristles with muscles but also smokes like a chimney? That sensuous, fit model, even those filmstars smoke. So do cricket heroes. These super-achievers look great and healthy too, surely smoking can’t be all that bad. Anyway. these doctors love to lecture about something or the other.I listen to this talk, fascinated. And delighted. Dr Mehul Bhansali, surgical oncologist, is addressing school children, like he has been doing for the past six years. He carries slides and a totally non-preachy attitude. He never tells you ‘‘Don’t smoke’’, he only explains why you take to smoking and what happens to your insides when you do. The young and committed doctor has been taking time off from his busy schedules in the Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai, to devote time to this, on behalf of the M B N Parekh Trust. I am delighted that he is doing his bit to nip this unhealthy, dangerous and antisocial habit in the bud.Think about it. It’s patently unfair. Smoking is probably one of those few bad habits that not only ruin your insides, make you look and smell yucky, but also do the same to me, just because I happen to be in your vicinity. Surely I have a right to protest and declare smoking my ‘‘pet hate’’!• ‘‘It’s only one cigarette, yaar!’’ One cigarette full of hydrocarbon and 4000 toxic substances.• ‘‘It relaxes me.’’ And while it is relaxing you, the heat is burning the mucosa of your lung lining. The nicotine is thickening your blood platelets, thickening the walls, slowing down the blood circulation and also aggravating stomach ulcers. It is raising your blood pressure and making you psychologically dependant. Moreover, it is making your breath stale and smelly, aging your skin, staining your teeth and is likely to cause cardiovascular problems — we aren’t even discussing cancer yet. According to WHO estimates, 50 per cent of cancer deaths are due to the ill effects of tobacco. Now that is really, really relaxing!!!Dr Bhansali never tells us to stop smoking and it is only when he is asked that he explains.How does one stop smoking?• Stop immediately and totally. There’s no such thing as cutting down gradually.• For some time, avoid places that encourage you to smoke and avoid friends who smoke.• Identify times when you most feel like a smoke, like after a meal, and find an activity to keep yourself busy.• Seek counselling • If the smoking is chronic, then go for a ‘‘patch’’ and seek counselling.I’d like to add my two bit too: Don’t smoke, who wants to kiss an ashtray!
