Nigerian singer, Yemi Alade has revealed that she once battled a brief cigarette addiction during her university days.
Naijaonpoint reports that the Oh My Gosh hitmaker said she eventually decided to quit after realising it was damaging her health and voice.
In an interview with Chude, the award-winning artist said she began smoking as a teenager and soon noticed it was becoming a habit she could not easily control.
She explained that she would smoke secretly before going to bed and often hid the act from the public because she was not proud of it.
Alade said the lifestyle left her uncomfortable and dependent, as she began to feel she could not sleep without smoking.
She added that it took a personal decision to stop once she noticed the harm it was causing, including how it affected her vocal performance.
She disclosed that her smoking phase did not last up to a year before she gave it up completely, choosing self-awareness and discipline over addiction.
She said: “Some people say I don’t smoke, I don’t this, I don’t that. When I was in the university I tried smoking. It did not work out. But before it did not work out, it worked out a bit too much. I started needing to smoke before I go to bed. I was getting addicted to that lifestyle. But also, in public, I would hide the cigarette.
“So, I was like, ‘What’s this life; the discomfort that I can’t go to bed without smoking and then when I go out, I am going to hide the cigarette? As a teenager in the university trying to figure out life, I also made certain decisions for myself that if I’m going to hide to do something, I will not do it. Because I like to be aware of my environment and my decisions. And I just said I don’t think cigarettes are for me.
“They are not for me. And they harmed me, they affected my voice anyways. So I stopped. Smoking for me did not last up to a year.”
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