Smoking brings young woman's marriage to the brink

NAT17National/SocietySmoking brings young woman's marriage to the brinkNagpur, Sep 27 IANS Addiction to smoking almost cost a young woman her two-year-old marriage. She has salvaged it for now by signing an affidavit that binds her to divorce without alimony if she takes a puff again. The woman's husband, a non-smoker, has brought his errant wife back from her parental home on the condition that she must not smoke again. The woman, hailing from Amravati near here, became addicted to tobacco while in college and continued smoking stealthily in her husband's home, but was caught red-handed by her in-laws after some time, a newspaper reported here Saturday. The smell of cigarette smoke emanating from different corners of the house regularly after their son's marriage disturbed and surprised his parents as no one else in the household smoked. Burnt cigarette stubs strewn outside the windows confirmed their suspicion that someone was smoking. Once caught in the act, the woman told her in-laws she had tried hard to give up smoking several times but the desire always got the better of her will power. When a stern warning by husband and in-laws to desist from smoking failed to work, they informed her parents who extracted a vow from her that she would not touch cigarettes in future. But the woman resumed smoking after a gap, resulting in her husband leaving her at her parental home six months ago. Yielding to her entreaties and believing her words that a proper de-addiction treatment has rid her of the habit, hopefully for good, the husband brought her back to Nagpur Friday but only after securing an affidavit of a divorce pledge and depositing its copy in a police station in Amravati. The woman has pledged to accept divorce without seeking alimony should she start smoking again.--Indo-Asian News Serviceshy/rd/jg343 Words27091259