I used to be revered by so many for multiple reasons. Some of them include excellence in studies, entrepreneurship, young CEO of firms, smart outlook during youth, and many more. However, I now hate one such reason. My fellow students used to tell me that I look cool when I smoke, particularly the black cigarettes (which were considered to be a thing of elites). I always used to carry packet and not loose cigarettes unlike most others in my league, making me look even more sophisticated.

I was a cross-country runner during school days. I could run three stretches of 8 km in a day (morning, noon and evening). I used to cycle 100-plus kilometres in a day. I had played almost every other game besides being a good student participating in various extra-curricular activities.

My Smoking continued. I used to enjoy my cigarettes and developed strong craving for them. Gradually, I became an addict. My body was quite worked-out, making me live quite healthy for many years.

One day, I had a sore throat. It did not get cured for months. It started irritating me a lot, making me uncomfortable. Doctors told me that my body’s immunity has gone down and hence it is not recovering.

I was advised to quit smoking. I used to quit for a while but could not control myself for long. I used to restart puffing in one party or the other. This continued for few years and the health problems multiplied.

On another occasion, I had developed multiple joint pains which would not cure. I was told that I am running very low on vitamin D and have developed Osteoporosis. I underwent complete profile check up. It was found that smoking was one of the main contributors to this state of bones. Today I am being treated for high blood pressure, nerve pulls, high triglyceride level and Osteoporosis.

I am 43 years old today and CEO of a company beside being mentor to many start-ups. I am responsible for my family. I need enormous amount of energy and good state of health to do justice to all. I not only regret looking “cool” with cigarettes but also think that this menace should be eradicated from the earth. This is spoiling generations after generations. All the successes can only be cherished in good health. Today I wish that one day I would be able to run marathon again.