They gathered for conveying a message that it is possible for people to be free from addiction to tobacco if they are mentally prepared to say goodbye to a habit which they thought they could never do.
Over 200 people who have come out of their addiction to tobacco who participated in a gathering of ex-tobacco addicts gathered in an auditorium at Thalassery here on Wednesday as part of a anti-tobacco campaign being launched by the Community Oncology Department of the Malabar Cancer Centre (MCC) at Thalassery.
Many of them shared their stories of how they became addicts, what health problems they experienced, and who saved them from the addiction. The initiative of the MCC was named ‘Munnettam’, which is an extension of the Quit Tobacco Clinic that the Oncology Department conducts every Wednesday.
“The purpose of such gatherings is to send across a message that tobacco addiction can be brought to an end,” said Phinse M. Philip, lecturer at the department, who was among those who initiated the drive. There is a scientific way to help a tobacco addict quit the addiction, he said.
The treatment being offered to the addicts as part of the clinic includes nicotine replacement therapy and behaviour modification. According to those involved in the campaign, older among the addicts are smokers while most of the younger addicts are found to be using other tobacco products, especially chewing tobacco.
Chance meeting
“There was hardly any type of tobacco products that I was not addicted to over the past few decades,” said an ex-addict, hailing from Peravur here. It was his chance meeting with Dr. Philips that helped him quit the addiction, said the man who requested anonymity. He continued the habit of chain-smoking even after he developed health issues, he said, adding that he had stopped the habit for the past six years.
Richard Hay, MP, inaugurated the gathering. MCC Director Satheesh Balasubramanian, Mahe MLA V. Ramachandran, and Deputy Superintendent of Police Prince Abraham were among those present at the function.
