No smoke without fire

There are many youngsters in the City who gain a sense of happiness and comfort from tobacco and alcohol. Every addict has his or her own reasons and story as to how and why they reached this state which is difficult to overcome.

For some youngsters, the reason behind this addiction is failure or rejection in love. Harish (name changed), an engineering student started smoking in PUC, though he had smoked once in sixth standard. “I had a lot of pressure at that time. As I was an average student, I had to excel in PU exams in order to get an engineering seat and at the same time, I was rejected by my lady love. And these things forced me to start smoking,” he reveals.

 Another common reason is the inability to cope with stress. When youngsters are burdened by social and emotional pressure, anxiety and depression, they turn to alcohol for a momentary relief and calmness. Himanshu (name changed), a student from Haryana, faced a lot of humiliation from his seniors when he came to the City three years back. “I was away from home and was feeling very lonely. Instead of consoling me, my hostellers kept on harassing me for petty reasons. In order to comfort myself, I took to alcohol and found pleasure in it,” he explains.

 There are some people, who start smoking and drinking out of curiosity and get addicted in a short span of time. And in most cases, their family members are not aware of it. Many a time, youngsters are unable quit these bad habits as their friends don’t allow
them to do so.

Sandesh (name changed), who is addicted to both cigarette and alcohol, tried once to leave cigarettes. But his friends didn’t let him.

 “A year back, I decided to quit smoking for personal reasons and declared my decision in front of my friends. They started laughing and kept on taunting and teasing me until I joined them for partying,” he remembers and adds, “It is very difficult to be a gentleman when you are in bad company.”

Unless some incidents take place in their lives, most youngsters don’t quit. Harish has left smoking now due to severe health problems.

 “I was hospitalised for three days and realised why people call hospitals as hells. I got a new life at that time and decided to stop smoking completely,” he says with confidence.  
Dr Vasumathi, a psychologist, says there are many reasons behind addiction. “Some get addicted in order to escape from stress or any kind of failure in life. Easy availability of drugs and alcohol and various programmes being telecast on television channels affect the healthy life of a young person,” she opines.

“If parents spend a few hours with their children and lend their ears to the problems of youngsters affectionately, half the problem can be solved. Young people are greatly in need of love, care and attention,” she adds.