I am Vinod (name changed), and I am a 20-year-old HSC student from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
I live with my family comprising of my mother, younger brother, and a sister. After my father passed away a few months ago, my family’s responsibilities fell on me. I had to leave my coaching classes, and I started working as a receptionist in a travel agency.
During this time, I first tried Gutkha (chewing tobacco) with my colleagues. Moreover, some of my friends were also consuming it, and I became addicted to it because of their influence.
My addiction went to the extent that I would get a headache if I didn't chew Gutkha for a long time, making it difficult for me to quit the habit.
I was referred to the Mumbai-based Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation's LifeFirst Counsellor programme through the Bhopal-based Pal Foundation. Initially, when counsellor Harshali Gaikwad called me for Tobacco Cessation, I used to consume Gutkha 20 times a day.
After taking my consent, she enrolled me in LifeFirst’s telephonic tobacco cessation counselling, where I understood problems like headaches are a common withdrawal symptoms among people who try to quit.
During my second sitting, I revealed how I was contemplating whether to pursue a career as a make-up artist or get into the pharmaceutical field.
She made me understand that to work properly in any of those careers, I need to quit tobacco. I was informed that if I go for marketing or do make-up for a person, my Gutkha use may hamper my image. Also, it will be difficult for me to meet professional people.
After gathering information on reasons, patterns, and addiction triggers, Harshali suggested various strategies and techniques to help me during the quitting process, including consuming cloves, deep breathing exercises, and mind diversion techniques.
Following all these strategies and techniques, I managed to quit Gutkha in about a month. They followed up with me for six months to ensure I did not go back to using tobacco again.
Besides, successfully quitting Gutkha in six months, I also completed a six-month course as a make-up artist.
(This story was updated to add Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation's name to the fifth paragraph.)
Edited by Suman Singh