On May 31, people all across the globe will be celebrating World No Tobacco Day 2021. To mark the day, we will look back at 5 celebrities that broke their cycle of addiction and quit smoking successfully. By quitting smoking, these celebrities used their influence in the wisest way, affect waves of their fans and made them inculcate better habits by not indulging in addictive ones. But before we take a look at those celebrities, let’s understand the
History & Origin of World No Tobacco Day
Every year, the WHO marks May 31 as the World Tobacco Day to raise awareness on the dangers of tobacco consumption and the business practices of companies that produce tobacco-based products. On this day the WHO spreads awareness as to the practices people can make to live a healthier life.
The day’s history can be traced back to 1987 when the WHO’s Member States created the World Tobacco Day to raise awareness on the tobacco epidemic and the number of preventable deaths tobacco causes. According to the WHO, “In 1987, the World Health Assembly passed Resolution WHA40.38, calling for 7 April 1988 to be a “a world no-smoking day.”
However, another Resolution titled WHA42.19 was passed that called for the World No Tobacco Day 2021 to be celebrated every year on May 31.
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5 celebrities who quit smoking successfully
1) Barack Obama
The idea of a US President smoking makes the man a human with his own demons, and makes the act of smoking so addictive that even the most strong-willed men are addicted to it. According to reports, Mr. Obama found this habit at a time most people do, during his teens. Later, during his physical exam in 2011, the White House official physicians reported that Obama was tobacco-free. What helped him? “I’m scared of my wife!”, he jokingly said in an interview. Michelle Obama during her tenure as the US First Lady was part of several health initiatives and campaigns.
2) Prince Harry
Coming from a seasoned politician to a monarch, grandson of Queen Victoria II, Prince Harry also picked up smoking when he was a teenager and the habit turned into an addiction for the years to come. The situation got so bad that according to Daily Mail, Buckingham Palace and other Royal Household places, were declared smoke-free zone. However, it was Meghan Markle, Prince’s to-be-wife, who helped her partner to quit smoking. A promotor of healthy living, she made sure that Prince Harry worked with the Royal Nutritional Advisor to stop smoking.
3) Vivek Oberoi
It takes one serendipitous moment to change your life. Vivek Oberoi was a chain-smoker, who was not only freely smoking on screens for his roles, but was also clicked by the paparazzi with a cigarette in his hand.
However, during a visit to a cancer hospital, Vivek saw what could be awaiting him and those he loved, and he decided to kick the butt. Not only did Vivek sober up, but he was also chosen by WHO as the brand ambassador for its anti-smoking movement. Talk about transformation!
4) Ranbir Kapoor
During his promotion of the Sanjay Dutt Biopic, Ranbir Kapoor revealed that he was a smoker and has been dealing with withdrawal. “I quit smoking for four months, then started rolling cigarettes again just last month – just one or two a day. It’s something I’m scared of because I’ve been a nicotine addict since I was 15, and it’s the worst kind of addiction, said Kapoor. Since then, Kapoor has been clean of tobacco.
5) Hrithik Roshan
The Greek-God of Bollywood was a heavy smoker and to his own admission he had tried quitting 5 times and had failed each time. In an interview, he also revealed that he tried nicotine patches and other ways to kick the habit, but failed.
“I wanted to kick the habit so I began researching how to,” Roshan said during his interview.
“I spoke to people who had quit, went online and read articles, saw testimonials of people on YouTube… I kept checking, and then finally I came across this book Alan Carr’s Easy Way To Stop Smoking, I ordered that book and the day I finished the book was the day I smoked my last ciggie,”
-Roshan said.
He also confirmed that he gave the book to fellow Bollywood celebrities Shahrukh Khan and Farhan Akhtar.
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