No Smoking Community

Quitting smoking can be extremely challenging, but it can be achieved if you stay mentally strong. We bring you two smoking cessation success stories of Gavin and Anu who woke up one day and decided not to smoke any more. Find out why and how they quit. Gavin: I was a smoker for almost 13 years. I started smoking when I was at university in the US. Like most smokers, it started nonchalantly with the 'have-a-drag' while you were having a drink at the bar. At first it was only when I went out,…

Dr Prakash C. Gupta, Director of Healis-Sekhsaria Institute of Public Health, has researched public health in India extensively over decades and shares with us his valuable opinions on tobacco use and cessation. Scroll down to sign the pledge The Age when it all begins Even when it may be difficult to ascertain the age in which people start smoking, the mean age of initiating tobacco use in any form in India is determined at 17.8 years: 18 for males, 17.1 for females. For smoking, it is 17.9 (…

Oral health is not limited to your teeth alone. Mouth ulcers or sores can develop inside the mouth, cheeks, lips and tongue that can be extremely painful. Dr Shail Jaggi informs us on causes and symptoms of mouth ulcers and offers some advice on how to keep our mouth healthy, hygienic and problem free. All of us have at some point experienced oral sores in the mouth. These are generally very unpleasant and extremely painful and will persist for a couple of days. These sores are called ulcers.…

Kailash Ashutosh Mehta,76, quit smoking after Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) disabled him. He fought his disease with exercise and pulmonary rehabilitation that helped him improve his breathing, fitness and quality of life. I had been smoking for 50 years. One day, when I could not walk even two steps without suffering from acute breathlessness, I was severely jolted. I realised I had damaged my lungs irreversibly and developed Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. I had to quit…

Leroy Lim's film "I Believe" narrates a personal encounter between a person with autism and a youth leader. Does it lead to friendship and inclusion in the group?  Find out more. The film "I Believe" was part of the Temasek Short Film Project 20/20 in Singapore.  It is an accurate portrayal of persons with autism and their interactions with people they meet. It is based on a personal encounter the student from Lasalle, Singapore had with an autistic teenager. As Leroy Lim mused…

AGS is the best example how one should not be browbeaten by the malfunctioning of one’s body. He did not lose his nerve over it; instead, he tried out combinations which suited his body best. He took charge and became an expert - he could now tell others what they may do.  Please tell us a bit about your condition: Inexplicable and uncomfortable/heavy feeling in the stomach lasting from 5 minutes to an hour or so - anytime during the day. Generally goes off on its own. Bloating of the…

Smoking is known to cause and effect many systems in our body with adverse consequences, but how does it affect fertility in women? Dr Sarita Bhalerao, an established OBGYN from Mumbai helps us understand the subject in more detail. 1. Is smoking a growing concern for infertility in women? Smoking and consumption of tobacco have in general been a growing concern for women all over the world. It is a major health problem affecting developing countries especially amongst the youth…

Ramesh Koppikar, a heavy smoker for 35 years, made several unsuccessful attempts to quit smoking. It finally took a heart attack for him to break the nicotine addiction and kick the habit for good. Read and share his experience. I started smoking cigarettes at the age of 23 when I was studying engineering at BHU, Varanasi. I was staying in the hostel on campus and my friends and I would go for a walk after dinner. The BHU campus is large and green, hence our walks would be…

Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, cancer surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital and leading tobacco control advocate on the importance of the fight against tobacco and what more needs to be done.  1.  Why is the fight against tobacco important? Tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death worldwide. It takes away the lives of 10 lac (100,000) Indians every year. There is a huge economic burden attributable to this (1.04 lac crores per year). It is also a cause for creating poverty. Hence, it…

Nilakanta Siva recounts how his smoking habit caught up with him later in life well after he had kicked the habit. He now lives without a bladder, prostate, several lymph nodes and a solitary kidney. And wishes he had not started smoking. “Hey, Siva, you know what. They are asking for volunteers to join the National Cadet Corps,” shouted Vijay. You get credits for the hours you spend at NCC. You need not even attend Biology classes, totally exempt.” “That is great. Long live the NCC option.” We…