Thank you Mumbai for Smoking

Well I admit it. Though I do not smoke (never have) and though I’d never encourage anyone to smoke - I did think it’d be really funny to get a picture of smoky Saket in front of this white board, put up courtesy the ‘Salaam Bombay Foundation’ stating “Proud 2 B Tobacco Free” in the middle of a somewhat busy mall.

On the white board were messages written by tobacco free people (I’m guessing!) encouraging others to give up / not start the habit.

Unfortunately, if one draws a little Dumbo the Elephant & writes the words “Everyone says quit. So I did. Now see I’m happy now. La… La… La… La” underneath Dumbo, I’m guessing that’s not going to be too much incentive to a person like Saket (or anyone?!) to quit. Right next to the board was another guy. Also smoking.

Anyway, now in a bit of an alternative mood, I catch hold of little navy blue T-Shirted girl (one of many) & ask her, in my most I-need-help voice, what she can do to get my dear friend to quit smoking.

To her credit, she went, got a couple of sheets and came back. To Saket’s credit, he actually stood there, like a good boy (hands behind his back et al) and actually answered her / listened to what she was saying.

Madam, who was young, cute, seemingly quite enthused about the cause & named Pooja, started out by making us (sorry, I couldn’t help butting in) fill out a questionnaire.

The more interesting parts of the conversation went something like this:

P: Do you find women who smoke attractive
S: Yes

(I think of Saket’s attraction to cocaine sniffing Kate Moss but remember that was a breast thing and not an addiction thing, so remain quiet)

P: Why?
S: Because it shows they’re not shackled by societal norms.
P: What?

(S explains what he means & in somewhat simpler language this time).

P: Would you find a woman chewing Gutka attractive?
S: No
P: Why?
S: It’s rather lower class
M: What??! How superficial of you!
P looks at me & smiles
P: I can see you’re on my side
S (unperturbed): Hey, that’s me.

Pooja continues asking Saket many questions until she’s done with the questionnaire. I hope the collation of the data actually helps someone in the future. I though, am looking at some rather more immediate help.

M (persisting): But how can we get my friend to stop smoking?

To Pooja’s credit, she actually decides to hang around & try to convince Saket. To Saket’s credit, he still continues patiently & respectfully listening (seemingly anyway) to her.

P: Well, do you love anyone?
S: No

Pooja immediately looks at me, seeming quite upset for me. I think she’s come to the conclusion that Saket & I must be seeing each other & is very sad for me that he’s not in love with me. She then finds it in herself to continue:

P: What about your parents?
S: Yeah, of course, my parents.
P: Next time you feel like smoking think about your parents.

I’m not quite sure how this is supposed to help. Especially since Saket is saying something to her about him not smoking in front of them anyway. Pooja is explaining but I’m still laughing in my head at the look she gave me.

They finally come to some sort of closure with Pooja dismissing Saket with some warnings of this sort “Every cigarette you smoke takes away 15 minutes of your life”.

We thank her for her time & join our other friends over coffee. And in between telling them about & laughing at the look she gave me (yes he noticed it too), Saket lights one up again.

In ending this post, would like to add a disclaimer - In no way am I belittling the work of Salaam Mumbai or any other organization trying to work towards a smoke-free community - this post is just an account of what happened with us.

(01) In case you were wondering about the title of this post, it’s based on the 2005 movie titled Thank you for Smoking, a satirical comedy on the ciggy habit.

(02) For anyone who’s trying to quit smoking, I found some seemingly very good practical advice on ‘How to Quit Smoking‘ at the Cancer Patient’s Aid Association site, where they say:

Over the years numerous people have come to Cancer Patients Aid Association expressing their genuine desire to quit smoking. Yet they are unable to do so. There are both psychological and pharmacological reasons why quitting is so tricky. The nicotine in cigarettes is potentially as addictive as cocaine and heroine and hence as difficult to give up. Medical aids in the form of patches and chewing gum that release moderate amounts of nicotine into the bloodstream, have been found to be partially successful during the early days in combating withdrawal symptoms.

However the psychological aspects of the habit are equally hard to surmount and must be overcome by sheer will power. Each individual’s motivations for trying to quit vary. The most important step remains the first one, making the decision. Subsequently each one of us must assess what it is that will motivate us to quit. Given below are some tips that can be used.

——>Practical Tips to Quit Smoking Here.

Tags: Cancer-Patients-Aid-Association, Cigarettes, Gutka, How-to, Mumbai, Questionnaires, Quit-Smoking, Saket-Vaidya, Salaam-Bombay-Foundation, Tobacco, Tobacco-Free, Vulturo