They still smoke because?

Even after the visual warning on the covers of cigarette packets, people find it hard to kick the butt. HT City finds out what excuses Delhiites who take a drag or two, have to give.

Even after the visual warning on the covers of cigarette packets, people find it hard to kick the butt. What big a proof than the US President Barack Obama, who confessed that he is 95 per cent cured but takes a few puffs when messed up.

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HT City finds out what excuses Delhiites who take a drag or two, have to give.

Name: Meeta Nanda
Taking puffs since: 7 years
Excuse no.1: Actually, the first cigarette of the day or a cigarette after a long gap in the day hits you. It's the rush or kick that makes me want to smoke at other times. And if I think more about it, I guess, I like the taste and the feeling it brings.

Excuse no.2: Sometimes, I agree with this friend of mine who says that she smokes because she is used to it. It's like a stop-gap time-pass when she doesn't know what to do!

Name: Abhinav Sinha
Taking puffs since: On and off for 4 years
Excuse no. 1: Gone are the days when I remembered the reasons why I smoke. Now, all I know is that I hate smoking, and last thing I sleep with is that I am not going to smoke the following morning. But I, somehow, wake up having it as the first thing in the day.

Name: Varuni Sharma
Taking puffs since: 2 years
Excuse no.1: Blame it on the 'kick' - that's the word used in 'smoking parlance'.

Excuse no. 2: I smoke because it's a stressbuster for me. When I am too excited, I smoke. When I am too worked up, I smoke. I find that it [smoking] relieves me of mounting excitement or tension.

Name: Vikrant Gupta
Taking puffs since: 3 years
Excuse no.1: If I am thinking too hard about something, I take a break. And with break comes a few drags. Obviously!

Name: Chitra
Taking puffs since: A little over an year
Excuse no.1: I started off with friends on a very lame reason that I wouldn't look like the odd one out. And now I can't stop smoking.

Excuse no. 2: I feel like quitting when I am happy, but when I am sad, I smoke while thinking that it would lessen my worries by cutting off the years of my life.

And yet, excuses apart, all these people and the readers, too, must never forget that smoking cigarettes is injurious to health.