Ram Kapoor revealed that he quit smoking a decade ago because his daughter had a heartfelt concern for his health after she saw an anti-tobacco ad that said, “Smoking kills”.
Actor Ram Kapoor has been making headlines for his impressive physical transformation, but what’s even more inspiring is his journey towards a healthy lifestyle. In a recent interaction, Ram opened up about his struggles with smoking and how his daughter’s concern helped him quit the habit.
Ram revealed that at one point, he used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day. However, everything changed when his daughter Sia, who was just seven years old at the time, saw an anti-tobacco ad on TV. The ad said that smoking kills, and Sia was very worried about her father’s habit.
Ram recalled the conversation he had with his daughter in an interview with Siddharth Kannan. He relived the moment when he returned home from shooting in Australia a few years ago. He explained, “She said, ‘Dada I want to talk to you,’ and I said, ‘Yes darling?’ She didn’t say, ‘Please quit smoking,’ please understand. She said, ‘I saw an advertisement that said smoking is deadly.
Are you going to die?’ She only wanted me to reassure her that I am not going to die.” Ram was deeply moved by his daughter’s concern and realised he had to quit smoking for her sake. “All she wanted to know was will I die, because if yes then stop, if no then please continue. So I realised I have to, so I quit.”
Ram admitted he has smoked twice since then, but only socially with his friend and Humshakals co-star Saif Ali Khan. However, he insisted that both he and Saif have quit smoking. He said, “After that I have smoked twice with Saif (Ali Khan).
He likes to smoke when he drinks. He has quit smoking. But he likes to smoke when he drinks. Twice, in his villa in Mauritius and once I don’t remember where, but we smoked and did nothing the next day. And I definitely smoke in films.
I smoke constantly for work, but now for ten years I have not smoked.” Ram also spoke about his approach to substance abuse and how he encourages his children to gain experience in life, but with him. “They have seen me give up everything in life that I wanted to – smoking, drugs, alcohol. I have done everything in life. And I will tell my children to do everything too.
Get every experience in life, but don’t let it dominate you. You control it. If you don’t have experience in your life, you are not living.”
Ram advises his children to “do everything” but with him. “I have told them ‘do whatever you want to do with me’. He believes this approach will help them make informed choices and avoid being controlled by their experiences.
