Jason 的故事 (Jason's story)

对于 26 岁的 Jason 来说，抽烟并不是因为自己有烟瘾，而是为了合群。Jason 来自新加坡，十几岁时移居澳大利亚，后来又回到新加坡服了两年的义务兵役。正是在兵役期间 因为和抽烟的一群新兵在一起，他也开始抽烟了。抽烟变成了一种社交活动，是拉近关系、顺便休息的方式。但是，当他服完兵役返回澳大利亚后，一切都改变了。没有了原来的社交影响，他意识到抽烟已经不再适合自己的生活。

“抽烟其实从来不是我真正想做的，只是因为身边的人都在抽，我才跟着抽。”

服兵役之前，我在十几岁的时候曾出于好奇尝试过抽烟。我的祖父抽烟，我大概在十四、十五岁的时候也试了一下。我当时对抽烟并不感兴趣。不过，在部队里就不一样了。抽烟成了每天的习惯，也是我与其他正在经历军旅生涯的人可以一起做的事。等我服完兵役回到澳洲，一切都开始发生变化了。我这里的朋友和家人都不抽烟，所以我觉得没有必要继续抽。与我认识的那些戒烟困难的人不同，我的戒烟过程相对来讲很顺利。

我只是单纯地不再买烟了。

如果周围没有人抽烟，我感觉就没有必要继续抽烟。尽管我偶尔也会觉得想抽烟，尤其是当同事叫我一起去抽根烟休息一下的时候，但我还是提醒自己为什么要戒烟。

我告诉自己，在澳大利亚我不是烟民。

这种心态让我更容易拒绝同事的邀请。“我的家人是我最主要的动力之一。” 我的父母一直告诉我抽烟不是件好事。尽管我在服兵役期间并没有把这当回事，但回来后，我开始听从他们的劝导了。

我也意识到抽烟其实带来很大的经济负担。在新加坡和澳洲，香烟价格都不便宜。世上没有免费的香烟，这些开销积少成多。

为了抑制我的烟瘾，我开始拥抱大自然。

我喜欢户外活动，所以就用散步来替代抽烟。呼吸美丽的澳大利亚大自然的新鲜空气让我神清气爽，感觉好多了。我还注意到我的身体和整体健康状况都有所改善。呼吸变得更顺畅，不再像以前那样感觉堵得慌。此外，我的头脑感觉更清晰了。这种感觉太棒了！

我给想戒烟的人的建议很简单：

多和不抽烟的人相处。如果你跟某些朋友在一起只是为了抽烟，那戒烟期间就先暂时和他们保持距离吧。

我也建议在戒烟期间尽量让自己保持忙碌。用其他美好的事物来充实生活，这样你就不会再想抽烟了。

现在的我，完全不会再想抽烟了。抽烟从来都不是我个性的一部分。我只是因为我周围的人抽烟才开始抽的。当环境变了，我才明白自己根本不需要抽烟。对我来说，戒烟不仅仅是停止一种行为，更是选择了一种不给抽烟一席之地的生活方式。

Jason’s Story

For 26-year-old Jason, smoking wasn’t about addiction, it was about fitting in. Originally from Singapore, Jason moved to Australia as a teenager and later returned to complete two years of mandatory military service. It was during this time, surrounded by fellow recruits who smoked, that he started smoking. Smoking became a social activity, a way to bond with others and take a break.

However, once he completed his service and returned to Australia, everything changed. Without the same social influences, he realised smoking no longer had a place in his life.

“Smoking was never really part of me – it was just something I did because of the people around me.”

Before military service, I had experimented with smoking as a teenager, just out of curiosity. My grandfather smoked and I tried it when I was around 14 or 15. It didn’t really interest me back then.

But being in the military was different. Smoking became a daily routine, a shared activity with others who were also going through the same intense experience as I was.

I completed my service, returned to Australia and that’s when everything changed.

My friends and family here didn’t smoke, so I didn’t feel the need to continue.

Unlike other people who I knew were struggling with quitting, my transition away from smoking was relatively straightforward.

I just didn’t buy cigarettes anymore.

Without people around me smoking, it felt unnecessary to keep doing it.

Although I occasionally felt the urge to smoke, particularly when colleagues at work invited me for a cigarette break, I reminded myself why I had stopped.

I told myself I wasn’t a smoker in Australia. That mindset made it easier to say no.

“One of the key motivators for me was my family.”

My parents always told me smoking was bad news. While I didn’t take it seriously during my military service, once I came back, I started listening to them more.

I also realised the financial burden of smoking was serious. Cigarettes are expensive in both Singapore and Australia. There’s no such thing as a free cigarette – it all adds up.

To manage my cravings, I turned to nature. I loved the outdoors, so I would go for a walk instead.

Breathing in the fresh air of the beautiful Australian nature helped clear my mind and made me feel better.

I also noticed physical improvements in my body and overall health. My breathing became smoother meaning that I felt a lot less congested. Plus, my mind felt clearer. It was brilliant!

My advice for others looking to quit is simple. Surround yourself with people who don’t smoke.

If the only thing you do with certain friends is smoke, maybe take a break from them while you’re quitting.

I also suggest keeping yourself busy, especially while you’re quitting. Fill your life with other lovely things so you don’t even think about smoking.

Today, I don’t think about smoking at all. It was never really part of who I was. It was just something I did because of the people around me. Once that changed, I realised I didn’t need it.

For me, quitting wasn’t just about stopping a behaviour- it was about embracing a lifestyle where smoking simply didn’t fit.

If you have a quit story you'd like to share, email us at quit@quit.org.au

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