World No Tobacco Day: Trust me, it’s not tough to kick the butt, says Vipin Sharma

A self-confessed chain smoker, actor Vipin Sharma quit smoking some 18 years back and since then has inspired many friends and industry mates. The Taare Zameen Pe actor says that one can keep contemplating kicking the butt for years, but it takes a moment for it to happen!

“I remember, it was February 2004 and I was going through some personal crisis, I had became a chain smoker, was heavily into drinking and seeing therapists as well. In Toronto (Canada), it was -40 degree C at night, and I was out of cigarettes. I started searching for the leftover butts and that was the time I had a realisation about how addicted I had become,” shares Sharma.

The actor says that searched on the Internet “how the f@#k I can quit smoking?”

“The first website that appeared was WhyQuitSmoking and I started reading and hours went by…I joined its community and gained all knowledge about its harm, quitting and life after. Thodi bahut initially pareshani zaroor hui but I quit smoking. Trust me, it’s not tough to kick the butt! Realisation of its harm to one’s body is important. I had quit smoking during my toughest phase so can anyone,” says Sharma. He was recently seen in Sirf Ek Banda Kaaf Hai and Saas, Bahu and Flamingo.

Sharma had inspired many of his friends to quit including filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, Daas Dev co-producer Anil Patil and actor Anil Choudhury. “Some of my friends in Canada quit smoking. I once told Anubhav sir to quit and count how many cigarettes he has not smoked. He calculated that in 22 months he would have smoked 15,000 cigarettes had he not quit. So, I just try to spread the awareness and tell that it’s achievable. In my life, best things have happened when I gave up smoking – I came back to India and got Taara… and that was just a beginning,” says Sharma.