Quit smoking and start life anew

Published: July 13, 2017 19:53:05 | Updated: October 23, 2017 07:14:24

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I gave up smoking about nine years ago and I can at least tell you that I feel quite happy about it. I am happy that I have, after prolonged efforts, been able to get rid of the harmful habit. Initially, my friends and well wishers expressed their doubts about my giving up smoking as I took many attempts earlier but could not stick to the decision. Now I can realise the benefit of quitting the bad habit of smoking. 
There is no way around it. Smoking is bad for health. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Cigarette smoking causes 87 per cent of lung cancer deaths. It is also responsible for many other health problems. These include lung disease, heart and blood vessel disease, stroke and cataracts. Women who smoke have a greater chance of certain pregnancy problems or having a baby die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Smoke is also bad for other people, causing passive smoking. I also try to encourage my near and dear ones to do away with this harmful and wasteful addiction. The internet helped me a lot to give up the bad habit as I went through a lot of articles regarding ill effects of smoking and I was quite convinced about giving up smoking. It is certainly not easy, but if one keeps in mind many positive effects of tobacco-free life, one will certainly feel encouraged to quit smoking. I have seen many smokers giving up smoking for fear of its negative and harmful impacts. At the same time, I also saw many people persisting with smoking cigarettes despite knowing full well about the bad impact of smoking on health. Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. This is nearly one in five deaths. Smoking causes more deaths each year than the following causes combined: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Illegal drug use, Alcohol use, Motor vehicle injuries and Firearm-related incidents. More than 10 times as many U.S. citizens have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than have died in all the wars fought by the United States.
Of late, there are messages of danger written on cigarette packs in our country. But as many people are illiterate they cannot read or understand the messages to help them stay away from smoking. We should always remember the time tested old adage, "Life is not merely being alive, but being well alive."
Mohemmed Sohel Hara
Bonosree, Dhaka
[email protected]

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