Self-motivation the best way to stop smoking habit

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): Want to quit smoking? Chewing gum and avoiding cafes might help a little in kicking the habit, but top model Enny Sukamto Hehuwat says that strong willpower and motivation must do the job in the end. A clich maybe, but she's proved it.

"It's no use if you keep on thinking about the right time to quit smoking. Whenever you have the will and the motivation, just do it and never smoke again," said Enny, who stopped smoking seven years ago.

While some smokers started at a very early age, Enny took her first cigarette at 26 in a bid to lose weight after giving birth to her first child.

A friend, she said, told her that smoking would help her take off the 25 kilos she gained during pregnancy.

"As a model, it was important for me to return to my normal weight. There's no such thing as a fat model. So, I was tempted to try ... but it wasn't true," said Enny, who is now 45 and a mother of three.

She lost weight, but it was more because of her diet and exercising.

She admitted she also started smoking to follow the latest trend. "There were many cigarettes for women. Some colorful, others long. I tried them and then got addicted."

After that, she averaged two packs a day.

But then, she found out that cigarettes made her hands yellow, her skin dry and ruined her favorite clothes.

"Once, I became very ashamed. It felt like a slap in the face when my husband told me that my hair smelled of cigarette smoke when he kissed my hair in the morning," Enny said.

Then she decided to completely give up smoking.

"My motivation was to become healthier. Now, my skin is not dry and my weight is just fine."

Enny currently appears in a TV commercial for a body lotion.

She is also deputy chairperson of the Indonesian Women Against Tobacco (WITT), an anti-smoking campaign here affiliated with the United States-based International Network for Women Against Tobacco.

The organization publicizes the serious health problems from smoking to encourage smokers to quit. The campaign has met with mixed results.

Top model Ratih Sanggarwati was one smoker who realized the danger posed by cigarettes before it was too late.

Having started at 17, Ratih decided to stop 18 years later when she learned that she was pregnant in January last year.

Fun

"I know that smoking is not healthy. So, I quit the minute I knew I was pregnant. I care very much about my baby and I don't want it to be affected," said the 36-year-old model.

Before her pregnancy, she tried to stop smoking thousands of times, but failed, she said.

"My doctor told me to quit every time I complained about coughing, but I admit that at that time, smoking, especially while waiting backstage, was really fun," said Ratih, who used to smoke a pack of Dji Sam Soe, a local clove-blended cigarette, every day.

But later on, when she finally kicked the habit, she regretted the addiction.

"Now, I don't feel dizzy or cough in the morning like I used to. I don't understand why I started smoking in the first place," Ratih said.

Now she is trying to make her husband stop smoking. "It's not healthy for the children," she said.

And if health problems posed by smoking fail to encourage smokers to stop, rising inflation and other pressures of the economic crisis could influence a person to quit.

Chandra Gunawan, a state-owned bank employee, is one of many smokers who stopped smoking because of economic reasons.

"Cigarettes are so expensive now. I can't afford it anymore," said Gunawan, who used to smoke a pack of Marlboros a day. Cigarette prices rose with the new increase in government taxes last month.

At present, he said, the price of Marlboro has almost doubled from Rp 2,500 to Rp 4,500 per pack.

"Just think, now I have to pay more for transportation, food, rent ... my salary can't cover everything," said Gunawan, who quit smoking three months ago.

He said the first two weeks left him "really desperate", especially when he spotted other smokers puffing at leisure.

"I was easily losing my temper and I was very close to starting again. But then I started thinking. Stopping smoking would not only benefit my health, but also my wife's. I've already stopped, so, what's the point in starting again," Gunawan said.

Another alternative for those intending to kick the habit is a traditional method. Known as gurah (to cleanse) in Javanese, the method gets rid of throat phlegm and nasal mucus often caused by heavy smoking.

The gurah method involves using an herbal mix made out of the roots of the singgugu (clerodendron serratum) plant and other herbs. In the treatments, the mix is dripped into the nasal passage with a leaf to dissolve any throat or nasal mucus. After the dosage, mucus flows out of the nose and the mouth in a few minutes.

"If my patients try to smoke after the treatment, it will taste very bitter. So, they instantly quit smoking," said Mohamad Putu Ariasa, 35, who administers the method from his home in Jl. Latif, Pasar Rebo in East Jakarta.

Each patient should be treated at least twice before all throat phlegm and nasal mucus can flow out, he said.

He started learning the method at the age of 10 and began treating people five years ago.

The chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association, Merdias Almatsier, said the medical profession acknowledged the presence of traditional medications such as the gurah method.

"We have no problem with traditional medication as long as there are no complications afterward," said Merdias, "We're happy if it can help improve people's health."

Research has yet to be carried out on the herbs used in the method, he said.

"It's difficult to comment whether the claims (about the gurah method) are true without scientific backup," Merdias said.

Believers of the method claim that it not only helps people quit smoking, but can also cure a variety of ailments, such as asthma, prolonged flu and sinusitis.