World No Tobacco Day: Three cigarette smokers share why they kicked the butt and here’s how you can attempt it

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In 2020, Mumbai-based creative professional Mandar Shete achieved something he had unsuccessfully attempted to do several times in years past. An active smoker since the age of 17, he gave up cigarettes entirely as a result of the pandemic. "I stopped smoking last April because cigarettes weren't available easily due to the lockdown. As weeks went by, I did not feel the need to smoke anymore," says Shete, now 34, who used to smoke about five cigarettes a day earlier.

It wasn't easy for him initially, but cost savings turned out to be a surprising motivation. Though cigarettes are available now, they are still being sold at varying and high prices, which are not affordable for many smokers. In a serious attempt, Shete has been able to avoid the harmful habit for the last 13 months already, and hopes to continue this. The fact that he feels more fit than before is an added benefit.

To smoking addicts, lighting a cigarette is second nature. Some justify it as a way of relaxing and dealing with stress, while others say it is a form of enjoyment. More often than not, they pick up the habit in college. However, the last one year has led quite a few people like Shete to give up the habit. Besides the unavailability of cigarettes in lockdown, Covid-19 itself -- which directly affects the lungs and indirectly highlights the need for overall good health -- was also a factor. The 2021 theme for 'World No Tobacco Day', celebrated on May 31 annually, is ‘Commit to Quit', and there are many people who seem to be going in the right direction with this intent ever since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world.

Dr Lancelot Pinto, consultant pulmonologist who heads a tobacco cessation clinic at P.D Hinduja hospital & MRC, has observed a visible change since the pandemic struck. He says, "There does seem to be a strong motivation to quit among individuals addicted to tobacco over the past year. This has been a result of an increasing awareness of the need to invest in one's health (especially respiratory health, considering the lungs are often the reason why individuals deteriorate in COVID), coupled with the difficulty in buying and consuming tobacco because of the lockdown."

No to tobacco, yes to health
Increasing focus on good health, as explained by Dr Pinto, has been a strong influence in this direction. Pune-based Ganapathy Ramachandran is another smoker who, like Shete, was initially driven by the cost-factor during the lockdown. He had an on-off relationship with cigarettes for many years now. The 37-year-old advertising professional says, "In the last 15 years, I have tried quitting on many occasions but have been unsuccessful. The period has lasted anywhere between three weeks to three months for me. During the lockdown, I even purchased cigarettes for Rs 600 but when it went up to Rs 750, I decided it was too much and had to quit."

The former Mumbaikar has had his tryst with cigarettes from the time they were priced at Rs 3 a stick till they cost Rs 18 each. From trying different kinds of cigarettes to moving to vaping and back to cigarettes again, his relationship with smoking took a turn when he finally decided to go cold turkey starting April 15 this year. A strange twist of fate followed. "On May 10, I got a high fever and, once admitted, was subsequently diagnosed with Tuberculosis." Ramachandran, who is currently undergoing treatment, said going through the harrowing experience was a crystal clear signal to him. He needed to stop not just for himself but also keep the promise he had made to his wife that he would quit when their daughter was born five years ago.

The Mumbaikar, who had shifted to Pune some months ago, hopes his story will inspire many to stop smoking -- especially those who start in college thinking it is "cool" or impressive. He still has a few cigarettes and lighters saved that he is not discarding for a reason. "I have kept the cigarettes as a challenge because I know it is within my reach but I will never touch it again in my life. However, the lighters are simply because I have quite a few favourites that I have collected over the years and would like to keep them," he adds.

Sickness also led another Mumbaikar to stop. At age 28, Anmol Gawand suffered a heart attack last year which made him reconsider his smoking habit, 12 years after he first picked it up. "I quit 10 months ago after I had a heart attack and had to undergo an angioplasty surgery," says the creative professional. He admits to often feeling that urge to smoke, and even buying a cigarette one time, but so far he has always successfully distracted himself by reading a book or doing other activities.

"After the initial withdrawal when I was in hospital, it wasn't that hard to stop smoking for a month after my surgery. However, every time I still felt the urge, I would tell myself I will smoke soon to prolong it and that reduced the cravings for me," he adds. "I probably won't go back to nicotine because I don't need that dependency again."

Covid-19 and smoking
It is by now known that Covid-19 severely affects the lungs and the respiratory system. Individuals who smoke, when infected with the virus, tend to have a more severe disease than those who do not smoke, says Pinto. He explains further, "This could be because of weaker lungs, a higher tendency to clot (which has been one of the mechanisms of damage caused by severe COVID), and cardiovascular risk factors which tend to be more common among those who smoke."

However, he adds, "There isn't data to suggest that individuals who smoke are more, or less vulnerable."

How to get started with quitting
Many people struggle daily to quit the addiction to smoke and it is surely difficult, so Dr Pinto recommends pharmacotherapy and behavioural interventions to help with it. The first step towards quitting tobacco is acknowledging that it is not a habit or a lifestyle choice, but an addiction.

He adds, "Worldwide, tobacco addiction is treated like any other illness with a combination of behavioural and pharmacological therapy. If you do want to quit using tobacco, the first step would be asking your doctor about the best available scientific methods to help you quit."

The probability of quitting tobacco when one tries to do so without any support (pharmacological or behavioural) is about three per cent. It increases to close to 50 per cent when one does so with the best available scientific methods.

A written action plan (a written plan outlining what one will do in the event of a strong craving), eliminating/modifying behavioural associations (if you smoke while having coffee, switch to tea), and using alternative methods such as meditation to help with stressful circumstances can all help, concludes Dr Pinto.

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