Breaking Up with the Deadly Stick: A Smoker’s Love Story
As a teenager living in the State Bank colony, I had my first brush with “macho vibes.” Armed with rolled-up paper, a few friends, and a lot of imagination, we pretended to smoke and playfully swaggered around like movie stars. Little did I know that these theatrics were planting the seeds of my smoky love affair.
Fast forward to my 15th year, when I landed a part-time gig conducting market surveys for a tobacco company. The perks of the job? A sneaky introduction to real cigarettes. CHARMS was my first crush, and let me tell you, lighting up that inaugural cigarette was like an initiation into adulthood – or so I thought.
This relationship continued for 25 years. From CHARMS to 555, the journey was exciting, intoxicating, irritating, and finally… boring. Yes, boring. By 2004, at the age of 40, I had my final puff. That last drag was oddly poetic – like the first kiss of a virgin me.
Since then, I’ve been on a mission to help others quit smoking. My anti-smoking crusade has been both rewarding and, at times, downright hilarious. I once convinced a lawyer friend to chuck his cigarette packet out of a train window during a trip to Ooty. Victory? Not quite. The next morning, I found him sneaking smokes behind bushes and scampering away whenever he spotted me. Even now, after all these years, he still smokes but bolts like a startled deer whenever I’m around.
Smoking is like an overly clingy partner – it starts off charming but eventually consumes your time, health, and happiness. It interferes with meetings, forces you to find awkward hiding spots, and replaces meaningful relationships with that deadly stick. Worse, it’s often the gateway to more dangerous addictions, dragging many youngsters into the abyss of drug abuse.
Sure, some argue that tobacco provides livelihood to workers. But can that justify the lives it snuffs out? I think not.
Over the years, I’ve helped many kick the habit. It’s been a fulfilling journey, though I still laugh at some of the antics. To all smokers out there: trust me, life without cigarettes is a breath of fresh air – literally. And if you see me coming, don’t bother running. Let’s just talk.
P.S. I’ve swapped smoky rooms for Rotary meeting rooms, and trust me, the air (and company) is infinitely better!
Rtn. Vijayakumar, a member of the Rotary Club of Chennai Sunrise and District Rotaract Committee Chairman, runs an international logistics company. Once a smoker, now a smoke-buster, he’s proof that life after cigarettes is refreshingly unfiltered!
Getting over an addiction aint that easy!!.. Very happy for you Rtn. Vijayakumar… You are transforming many lives.. Kudos!!