Q. You have explained more than once that smoking is not allowed in Islam. Yet if one has been a smoker for many years, he finds it very hard to stop smoking. It seems Ramadan should be a good occasion to do so, but somehow most smokers fail to manage. Could you please explain the best ways to stop smoking?
(Name and address withheld)
A. It is certainly not easy to stop smoking, because it is an addiction. I realize that many smokers try to describe it as a habit rather than an addiction, because the latter word carries very unpleasant connotations. However, the World Health Organization defines addiction as “the habitual intake of a substance that cannot be stopped without causing pain or suffering.” No smoker will dispute that tobacco falls in this category. Had it been possible to stop smoking without pain or suffering, most smokers would have stopped by now, because they are better aware of the harmful effects of tobacco.
When several top executives of the multinational tobacco companies testified before a congressional committee in the US a few years ago, saying that tobacco does not cause addiction, the world media met their testimony with great derision. The whole world knew that they were lying. Indeed only a couple of years later they themselves retracted their statement and admitted what they knew all along, i.e. the addictive nature of tobacco.
Since smoking is addictive, stopping it is hard. Hence, a Muslim who realizes that it is forbidden to smoke should prepare himself fully for the task. But a Muslim is in a better position to cope with the difficulty than a non-Muslim.
There are certain elements that are necessary for every smoker who wants to quit this foul habit. The first is the determination to be successful. Without a strong will, no attempt to quit an addiction of any type can be successful. Therefore, one needs to sharpen one’s will power for this commendable task. A reminder of the damage smoking does to his own health and to that of his family will be helpful. Any additional consideration should be highlighted in one’s mind, such as the savings one can make as a result, the social improvement in his condition, the sense of achievement if his attempt to quit succeeds, etc.
Secondly, a believer should be sure to place his trust in God that He would bless his effort and help him. He should pray hard for God’s help. Without it, he is so much weaker.
When a smoker has equipped himself with these two elements, he should realize that there are two methods to follow. The seemingly harder one, but eventually easier and more likely to succeed is to stop at once, determining that one will not take another cigarette. The challenge this represents should be clear in his mind. The clearer it is the better. I have a friend who, after 30 years of smoking, decided to quit.
He bought six packets of his favorite cigarettes and placed them very close to him, one in his pocket, one in his car, and a third in his desk at work, etc. so that a cigarette was instantly available to him at all times. And he was determined to quit. Thus the challenge he put for himself could not be clearer. He was very successful. He never smoked a cigarette after that day. He is still convinced that this is the best and easiest way to stop smoking. He admits that it caused enormous suffering in the first couple of days, but he was prepared for that.
The other method is the gradual reduction of one’s intake. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, such as delaying one’s first cigarette of the day as much as possible, and lengthening the period between each two cigarettes by 15 minutes the first week, and another 15 minutes the second week. However, with the gradual approach the chance of a relapse is much greater. Yet it succeeds for many people.
Some people need help from relatives and colleagues. If this is the case with anyone, he should not be ashamed to request such help. This could be in the form of encouraging one’s children to try to stop their parent every time they see him about to light a cigarette.
On the other hand, there are aides that can easily be found. One form of these is the nicotine patches which one places on one’s body so as to give him a smaller dose of nicotine, the tobacco substance that causes the addiction. The idea is to lessen the pain of quitting by providing one’s body with an alternative source of the addictive substance while one is breaking the habit of holding a cigarette and puffing smoke away. The patches reduce the intake of tobacco gradually over a period of several weeks. If followed correctly, this increases the chances of a successful quit by 25-50 percent.
Ramadan provides a great chance for Muslims who smoke to quit the habit and release themselves of the addiction. The fact that a Muslim is without his cigarette for more than 13 hours a day makes the task much easier.
What he needs to do is to reduce to a minimum the chances of picking up a cigarette in the remaining part of the day. Thus, he should always remember that he must not spoil his fasting by deliberately taking a cigarette after his evening meal. He should busy himself with what is required and recommended in Ramadan’s nights. Thus, after Maghrib prayer, he should take a relaxed and long meal. He then forces himself to abstain from smoking, until it is time for Isha and Taraweeh prayers. This takes away another hour or two. It is also much better that he should sleep as long as possible during the night. Thus, if he goes to bed shortly after Taraweeh and delays his dawn meal to shortly before the start of the fast, he reduces to a minimum the time during which he can smoke.
This pattern of spending Ramadan nights is very helpful to a smoker who is trying to quit. There is no doubt that the first few days will be hard, but he should remember that the hardship is a decreasing one. After three days, he begins to adjust to the new situation. There will remain much craving for a cigarette, but it will gradually be of the sort that can easily be coped with. After one week, the addiction will have been broken.
There remains the desire to go back, but this is the going back to what one is used to and comfortable with. After one month, one would have completely broken the addiction in the sense that there will be no more pain or suffering, but the situation remains fragile. It takes a full year to say that one has been completely successful in quitting. Some people go back to smoking after two or three years of quitting, but this is in no way the result of the earlier addiction. That addiction is gone. They go back to it because they want to, or in a gesture marking weakness.
Another useful type of help is that provided by the specialized clinics the Saudi Ministry of Health runs in various cities and towns. These clinics provide a wide ranging of aides and services that are geared to help smokers to quit. They are free and dedicated to the task.
I pray that every smoker who reads this answer will take the advice and act on it, and prove to himself and his family that he has enough will power to quit smoking and get rid of his addiction.
