Arjun Rampal Says, Quitting Smoking Was Hard And Everyday Was A Battle On World No Tobacco Day

Today being the World No Tobacco Day, Bollywood's ace actor Arjun Rampal opened up about his smoking habit and said he had to struggle a lot to quit it. He motivates others on this special day by sharing his battle.

He started off by saying, "When I wanted to quit, it was the most difficult thing to do I'd get cranky, irritated and short-tempered. It's not something that one can overcome easily".

He also said that he used to smoke when he was in boarding school. "I used to be an athlete. I got hurt doing some hurdles, while training for races, and couldn't compete. I was quite upset and saw my friends smoking, and for the fun of it, I also tried. I couldn't do it, so, my friends taught me how to inhale and take a drag. I smoked one and got this head rush for the first time; it felt really good."

He also admits that he was smoking almost a pack daily and tuned into a chain smoker. "I became a chain smoker, which was disgusting".

Finally, his little one Arik motivated him to quit smoking. "I was sitting with Arik in the middle of a pandemic, and I thought I'm just messing my lungs, and playing with my health. I know the capacity I have for outputs is far greater than what it is today. How can I be so irresponsible to go and pick up a baby, while smelling of tobacco. It stays on your hands, hair and fingers too."

He added, "You feel like you should smoke too. But, having been there done that, that one drag is exactly like the feeling when you started smoking in the first place and that becomes a habit again. This time your body recognises this feeling and craves for it".

He also says tips on how to quit smoking… "The best way to quit is to stop thinking too much about it. More than anything, the urge is to satisfy the reflex that the body creates when you have been a smoker. Replace the cigarette with a mint, a chewing gum, or even a lollipop".

He also added, "Thinking if he's smoking, I can smoke too is a very dumb approach. The guy who's smoking in the movie is doing a job and knows that it's bad. Don't be a fool and just enjoy the movie for what it is".

He finally concluded by saying, "People think it helps them reduce stress or concentrate. It doesn't, and on the contrary, it does all the opposite things — it increases your stress, blood pressure, and makes you more susceptible to many forms of cancer. Don't go down that route. I'm out of it, and I'm going to stay out of it. Don't get into habits that are going to be fatal because habits become a part of your personality".