Bengaluru, June 6 : Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday underlined the need to stand up to peer pressure while sharing his cigarette-smoking experiences and said that staying healthy should be given importance.

He was speaking after inaugurating a free health check-up and treatment camp organised for the officers and staff of the secretariat at Banquet Hall Vidhana Soudha.

The CM said that addictions can happen due to peer pressure. 'But we must always be vigilant and protect ourselves. I used to smoke cigarettes earlier. Once friends bought a pack of foreign cigarettes, I smoked one after the other. I smoked more cigarettes in a short time. The next day I felt bad and convinced myself to quit cigarettes on 27th August 1987. On the same day, I stopped smoking completely. I did it."

CM Siddaramaiah further said that people who sit without physical activity for long durations are more prone to get sick. "So physical and mental activity is necessary. Lifestyle and food habits are adversely affecting human health," he said.

The CM added that the state government was constantly designing and implementing programmes to provide health and necessary treatment to all sections of the people.

"Even deadly diseases like cancer can be cured. It is possible to maintain health for a long time if health check-ups are done regularly," he said.

The CM said that the health system and hard-working lifestyle of our ancestors had kept them healthier and stronger.

He instructed the officials that such health check-up camps should be organised regularly and should be conducted all over the state. The CM gave a call to start caring for good health from an early age to avoid the problems that come with old age.

/IANS