Haven’t touched cigarettes since August 27, 1987: Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday recalled how he quit smoking cigarettes in 1987 after realising the dangers to his health.

Siddaramaiah was speaking after inaugurating a free health check-up camp for secretariat officials and employees at the banquet hall of the Vidhana Soudha.

“I used to smoke a lot,” Siddaramaiah said. “I’m 1987, my friends gave me a box full of cigarettes that they purchased when they went overseas. I smoked them all,” he said.

“Then, one day, I thought to myself that I’d smoked all those cigarettes in a short span of time and that disease was guaranteed. So, I decided to quit from that day on. It was August 27, 1987. To this day, I haven’t touched cigarettes,” Siddaramaiah said.

Siddaramaiah used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day, according to what the CM had said in 2018.

At Thursday’s event, Siddaramaiah said he regularly does prayanayama and exercises.

“Lifestyle and food habits are affecting human health,” the CM said. “The state government is designing and implementing programmes to provide healthcare and necessary treatments to all sections of people,” he said.