Actress Sherlyn Chopra Comes Clean About Her Smoking Addiction and How She Finally Quit It (Watch Video)

Looking at Sherlyn Chopra, it’s hard to believe that back in the days the stunning actress was addicted to the cancer stick. But in an interview with Latestly, the former MTV Splitsvilla host honestly admitted that she once struggled with a smoking problem. Sherlyn spoke of a time when she was hooked on to nicotine, smoking as many as 20 cigarettes in a day. But that is a thing of the past. As of today, she has successfully beaten the smoking habit and has managed to stay clean till now. Her journey can inspire many of us who are still struggling with our addictions. On World  No Tobacco Day 2018, Sherlyn tells us how she achieved the feat and her heartfelt message to all the smokers out there.

How the Habit Began

Like many chain smokers, Sherlyn too graduated from smoking a few sticks to a pack of cigarettes in a single day. “Actually I would smoke two or three cigarettes per day. And then that became a recurring indulgence. Two to three became five, six, ten, fifteen and twenty per day,” she shrugs. She reveals that it gradually became a full-blown addiction.

Sherlyn confesses that watching prominent celebs smoke on television encouraged her to continue with her smoking habits. The youth emulate their role models; that’s why responsible celebs have pledged not to be seen smoking in movies lest their followers start copying them. “I’d see Shahrukh Khan and other superstars smoking. I would look at them and tell myself, ‘See nothing has happened to them. They are still smoking; so can I,” she states.

What Triggered the Change

Somewhere in early 2017, Sherlyn confessed that she had enough of her habit. And that’s when she thought of quitting for good. “Something within me said no, enough! Enough of this unhealthy lifestyle. Let’s do something different,” she says. Finally, last year in October, after years of internal conflict, she took the decisive step to put her health first. “I just decided bas bahut ho gaya, give up karna hain (Enough is enough. I have to give up),” she says.

By consciously deciding to quit smoking, Sherlyn wanted to test whether her body could survive without the cigarette. “Our body is very intelligent; we should stop underestimating it.” Her plans for motherhood also inspired part of her decision to quit: “I intend to be a mother in the years to come. I would definitely don’t want my children to be passive smokers.”

Her Message to All the Smokers

She has some valuable pieces of advice to ones who still can’t beat the habit and those who have no intentions to quit at all. “I want these young smokers to know that their children, as and when they come into this beautiful world, would not listen to their parents, but watch their parents!” she points out.

'Parents should be the change they want to see' is the gist of Sherlyn’s message. Forbidding children from smoking won’t help unless you set an example yourself: “If I smoke day and night and tell my kids, ‘Hey kids, smoking is bad so stay away from it.’ So to be good responsible parents, be responsible adults first,” she says.

When you try too hard to not think about the pink elephant, all you think about is the pink elephant. Likewise, the actress says that the first step towards quitting is to not try too hard. “When you resist something it ends up persisting,” she quips. When all you are thinking about is quitting smoking, it occupies all your thoughts. “Think about something else. Think about what you wish to do with your body, your workout routine, your work, your projects [or] your friend’s birthday party,” she rounds off.

Sherlyn’s journey proves that quitting cigarettes and smoking is definitely an uphill task but it’s not impossible. More power to her!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 31, 2018 12:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).