Yemi Alade
Nigerian musician, Yemi Alade, has revealed that she once struggled with a smoking addiction as a teenager but decided to quit after realising the habit was harmful to her health and career.
The ‘Johnny’ hitmaker made the revelation during an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, where she reflected on her brief but intense experience with smoking while in university.
Yemi Alade explained that although she initially began smoking casually, it quickly developed into a dependency. “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,” she admitted. “I started needing to smoke before I went to bed. I was getting addicted to that lifestyle.”
She disclosed that despite her growing dependence, she often hid the habit in public because she was ashamed of it. “In public, I would hide the cigarette,” she said. “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 have to hide it?’”
According to Yemi, this internal conflict led her to make a firm decision to stop. “As a teenager in the university trying to figure out life, I made certain decisions for myself — that if I have to hide to do something, then I will not do it. Because I like to be aware of my environment and my decisions,” she said.
The award-winning singer added that smoking negatively affected her voice, further motivating her to quit.