!!!Quit smoking!!! - Easiest way. Review on General Tips on Personal Grooming

• There are 2 things which I would like to bring out in the following piece of text -

1) How does one fall into the trap of smoking?

2) How does one get out if at all you fall for smoking?

Before that .

Advantages of smoking

1) Your mouth will smell as bad as backwaters of chennai that nobody will dare to come near you. Advantage if you are in a crowded city.

2) Your girlfriend will dump you, coming to know that you are a smoker. You can lead a happy bachelor life and * you can be yourself

3) You will get a special recognition from the society as a SMOKER. You can feel important for being recognized and that you are not just one in the crowd.

4) Happy dent white, Polo, Menthos, Minto fresh and all other mouth freshners will do good business and our economy will grow. Of course, cigarette companies too.

• If you agree with me that the above are advantages, then quit reading this here. There would be better reviews in this place. If you understood that I was just kidding, you can read on …

How does one fall into the trap of smoking?

• By not knowing/forgetting a few things …

  
  




• ‘What the hell is there in that cigarette; I find so many smokers?’ - If you just want to try smoking, that’s the first indication that you might be in the trap. Curiosity is good, but not here

  
  




• ‘Hey look how stylish Rajnikanth looks with that cigarette!’ – Rajini will look stylish; you will look pathetic in most people’s eyes, which might also include co-smokers.

  
  




• ‘I can quit anytime I want, I have control over myself’ - Tomorrow you might ask ‘Why should I quit?’

  
  




• ‘It is high time I grow up. All my friends who smoke tease me for my inability to suck in and blow out that piece of gas called smoke’ – You are more matured/grown up if you do not smoke. If kids crave for chocolates and ice creams, the so called grown ups crave for cigarettes.

  
  

How does one get out if at all you fall for smoking?

• There has been so many theories and practices that are in place to help those who want to quit smoking. I am not so good in such counseling. But I can give you one approach, practical and acceptable(?)

  
  




• 1. Identify why you smoke

  
  

Often people will not be able to give an answer to this. ‘Why do you smoke?’ It makes you realize that it is nothing more than a habit. Few can give answers like, ‘It helps me relieve stress’, ‘It helps me think’, ‘Oh, cigarettes are so close to me’(what?! ?)

• 2. Do not work on quitting

I mean it. Do not give so much thought about quitting. Just slowly start forgetting! Not quitting, but cigarettes. Just decide that you will quit and go about work.

• 3. Listen to your mind

Points 2 and 3 could appear contradicting. But they are different. Most smokers smoke just like that. They do not have time slots or preferred time or something. When you have decided to quit, listen to your mind, hear it say ‘come on I cannot bear anymore’. It sometimes may not. But if it does, do not hold back. Take a puff or two and when your mind says – ‘Aah, good. Now I feel better’, then drop the cigarette immediately. Do not just smoke because, you have not been smoking for the past two hours or 4 hours(Remember you have decided to quit, all that I am saying doesn’t count otherwise)

• 4. Challenge yourself

If point number 2 does not work for you, this is an alternative. Enjoy your guts saying no to a habit that has haunted you. Start feeling proud about it. I bet this would be your biggest victory, yet easiest and the one that will make yourself feel proud.

• 5. Keep yourself busy

Keep yourself busy with activities that will keep you on your toes for hours together. For people who smoke to get relieved of stress, swimming is a wonderful alternative. Working out at gym will flex your muscles and help blood flow better that can bring down your craving to smoke.

• And … that’s it. Try it and let me know if the method worked out. It did work out for one person I know(Yes, A confused confession which indirectly cum directly points finger at that one person)

Regards,

Vinayak

Add-on:  A couple of quotes which I liked on cigarettes

1. A cigarette is a thing with fire at one end and a fool at the other

   
   




2. A cigarette is a special finger that lasts few minutes between two other fingers(poorly translated by me from a Tamil movie song. The original version was really poetic and good)