The things people will put themselves through to give up smoking. Case in point İbrahim Yücel, a 42-year-old smoker from Kütahya, Turkey who recently decided to wear a locked metal cage over his head to fight his addiction.
İbrahim Yücel has been smoking for the last 26 years, and despite several attempts to quit he couldn’t break his two-packs-a-day dirty habit. Every year, on his three children’s birthdays and on his wedding anniversary he would give up cigarettes, but he never went more than a few days without them. His family, his friends and co-workers all tried to convince him to stop using tobacco cigarettes, but he just couldn’t do it. After losing his father to smoking-induced lung cancer a few months ago, İbrahim realized smoking just wasn’t worth losing his life over and putting his wife and children through the same hardships. But the Turkish technician also knew he lacked the willpower to quit by usual means, so he came up with a rather unusual solution. Inspired by motorcycle helmets, he decided to build a metal wire cage that would prevent him from lighting up no matter how badly he craved a cigarette.
Photo: OĞUZHAN KILIÇ/DHA
Yücel went to some blacksmiths with his idea, but they refused to help, so he was forced to build the device himself. He made sure the birdcage-like headgear had the copper wires as close together as possible to make it impossible to fit a cigarette through and added two locking mechanisms. He gave one key to his wife Kawthar, and the other to his 14-year-old daughter Ayse. This makes it impossible for the avid smoker to take off the head cage when he leaves his home. So far, the quirky headgear has helped İbrahim stave of smoking for four days, but the worst is yet to come. After hurting his hand in an accident, he was confined to his home for a few days, but he starts work again today, and that’s where his big idea will truly be tested. Not only will he have to face the temptation to smoke at the workplace, but he’ll also have to deal with the embarrassment of wearing his cage in public. But İbrahim Yücel is willing to go through it all if it means finally being able to quit smoking for good.
Photo: OĞUZHAN KILIÇ/DHA
His wife, Kawthar, who been constantly pressuring him to give up cigarettes in the 16 years they have been married, says İbrahim’s idea seemed a bit extreme at first, but after realizing how determined he was to kick the habit, she began supporting him.
Source: Türkyie Gazette via Vape Ranks