1. WILL POWER – KEY INGREDIENT TO STOP TOBACCO CONSUMPTION
Shivi Jain- B. Tech, VIT University Vellore, Tamil Nadu
Lets first go through the word tobacco carefully; it can be interpreted as –
“toh back ho”. The word itself is a warning against the use of tobacco. Nowadays there
is an increasing trend towards the use of tobacco and smoking of cigarettes especially
among the young generation. The youngsters of today consider chewing tobacco and
smoking cigarettes as a style statement. They feel that it makes them look “cool”. They
hardly realize the ill effects of tobacco and gradually get addicted to it. The other reason
of consuming this “poison” is that they see older people in their family and social circle
doing the same. They might have in mind that if tobacco is not affecting them then
perhaps they can also have it without any tension. The young employees consume
cigarettes or tobacco after a long hard day’s work thinking that smoking will release them
of their worries but they never think about the fact that this smoking will ultimately ruin
them and their future. People who smoke have a mentality that “Everyone smokes...then
why I shouldn’t?” People not having strong will power succumb to such reasons and
start chewing/smoking tobacco which ultimately makes their future dark.
The ill effects of tobacco come to surface only after certain amount of time for
those who consume it. The ill effects may include heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer,
mouth cancer, hypertension and many others. To save oneself from these entire
problems one should either not consume tobacco or stop consuming tobacco right away.
Taking this step requires a really strong will power. The willpower of a person depends
on his motivation to do something. Everyone knows somewhere that tobacco
consumption is wrong. Therefore no other reason is required to be motivated to stop
chewing tobacco. One does not have to wait to fall sick and catch some disease due to
tobacco to be motivated.
Many efforts are being made by the government, media and doctors to spread
awareness among people to stop the use of tobacco. Government has banned the use
of tobacco in some states. Media and doctors are trying to reduce tobacco consumption
by organizing Anti-Tobacco campaign every now and then. There are websites
dedicated to people who want to quit tobacco and help them do the same.
Despite the above attempts to stop a person from consuming tobacco we find
people who are addicted to tobacco do not stop chewing or smoking the same. The
main reason behind this is lack of will power and motivation. Many people take nicotine
replacement therapies to stop consuming tobacco but these kind of therapies are not
required if you have the courage to do it by yourself. According to a survey, most of the
ex-smokers stopped smoking without any aid or help. The only tool they had was their
will power.
Therefore strong willpower is something by which you can achieve anything in
your life. You can stop chewing tobacco and quit smoking only by one simple thing – will
power. You need not go anywhere. Whatever you need to stop you from chewing
tobacco is right inside you. You only need to realize it and nurture it in the right direction.