Lockdown helps tobacco addicts seek ways to kick habit

Hubballi: The closure of several petty shops that sell cigarettes, beedis and guthka during the lockdown has left habitual users of these tobacco products high and dry. However, the protracted period of going without their addiction appears to have strengthened the resolve of many to kick the habit for good. Several addicts have enrolled themselves in nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to achieve this end.
Some of the addicts have switched to nicotine gums and patches to go through this phase, while several others have consulted psychiatrists for the use of bupropion tablets. Pharmacists have asked the government to consider the addition of nicotine gums to the list of ‘emergency medicines’ to prevent the eventuality of these accessories falling short.
The psychiatry wing helpline of Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) and Dharwad Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Dimhans) have been receiving calls on a daily basis from those addicted to tobacco products, seeking help to deal with withdrawal.
Dimhans director Dr Mahes Desai said that, he received around two to three calls on his personal number and helplines every day. “NRT is the best way to quit tobacco. It makes the process of switching off the habit a lot smoother,” Dr Desai added.
The Dimhans director, pointing to the prevalence of tobacco chewing in North Karnataka, said that the addicts ought to look on the lockdown as a blessing in disguise, one that could help them get rid of the unhealthy practice.
Siddhant Kathewad, a private firm employee, is among those who, after initially struggling with withdrawal owing to the non-availability of guthka, to which he is addicted, was compelled to contemplate NRT. “The non-availability initially made me very irritable. I paid a huge sum initially to get my hands on some packets in the first few days of the lockdown. I have never gone a single day without tobacco for the past 15 years, and in the past fortnight, I have not used any tobacco product. I started using nicotine gums as per the advice of doctors, and my craving for tobacco has decreased considerably,” Kathewad said.