Dubai: The arrival of a baby, a cold and rainy day or being unable to pray without the smell of smoke — Gulf News readers have quit smoking for reasons as varied as the damage cigarettes can cause.
The UAE introduced new stringent anti-tobacco laws on Wednesday.
Kellie Drayton, an Australian expatriate and mother of two, stopped smoking when she was expecting her first child in 2005. Having smoked a packet a day for four years, Drayton put off quitting until she realised she would always find a reason to keep smoking.
"I knew I had to stop — not only for the health of my baby but because I knew I would now be a role model and did not want my child growing up with the excuse that I had: ‘My parents smoke. I can, too!'"
As soon as she quit, Drayton started realising the benefits of a cigarette-free life, as smoking gave her a smoker's cough during winters, and stopped her from walking long distances.
Another reader, Dubai-resident Nasar Usmani, was going through a difficult phase in his life, when he decided to turn to faith for some help. "Every time I prayed, the smell of stale tobacco came from my mouth. That's when I decided to quit and the motivation is still working." However, other readers simply decided to quit when they felt they were ready to kick the habit.
Justifying
"At the end of the day you justify it to yourself in your own way. But you are always aware of the impact it is having on your health," said 35-year-old Anthony Bugden, an Australian expatriate who quit this Christmas, after 15 years of smoking. "It's a filthy habit, it's not me and it's well and truly time."
Nita Rao, a 28-year-old Dubai resident, quit last week and is braving the highs and lows of withdrawal. "The first day was easy, but on the second day people started looking like walking cigarettes. The third day seemed better, but on the fourth, I had such a strong craving that I ended up smelling cigarettes."
However, things have improved in the past few days for Rao, as her concern about the damage cigarettes had caused to her body over the past 12 years keeps her going.
For 70-year-old Malcolm Kemp, cigarettes came into his life along with other privileges associated with a naval officer's life. He took to the habit at the age of 16, as cheap cigarettes were easily available.
"I used to smoke around 20 cigarettes a day. One day, when I was 35, I returned home with just one cigarette in my pocket. I thought of going out and buying a new packet, but it was a terrible English day — windy, chilly and rainy. I felt it would be pretty silly to go out for a cigarette!"
With a television programme in the background showing ravaged lungs of smokers in plastic bags, Kemp threw his last cigarette into the fireplace.
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