From Addiction to Awareness: How Aman Doda Is Building India’s Nicotine Freedom Movement

Nicotine addiction in India doesn’t look the same for everyone. For some, it’s the cigarette break that slowly turns into dependency. For millions more, it’s chewing tobacco or gutka — habits normalized by routine and culture. Yet regardless of the form, the impact is deeply personal: declining health, rising anxiety, and a growing sense of lost control.

While most conversations around tobacco focus on warnings and statistics, Bengaluru-based wellness coach Aman Doda is approaching the problem from a different angle — by helping people understand the psychology behind addiction rather than simply fighting the habit itself.

His work today centers around QSFS — the Quit Smoking & Nicotine Freedom System — a structured, community-driven program designed to help individuals permanently break free from nicotine in all forms.

What makes Aman’s approach compelling is that it didn’t originate in theory. It began in struggle.

A Coach Who Couldn’t Quit

Before founding QSFS, Aman was already immersed in wellness. A former professional skater turned coach, discipline and performance were core parts of his identity. Yet behind that professional exterior, he was battling a cigarette habit he couldn’t control.

“I tried everything — willpower, nicotine gums, apps, meditation,” he recalls. “As a coach, I understood health. But addiction doesn’t respond to logic alone. That realization was frustrating — and eye-opening.”

The turning point came when Aman recognized that nicotine addiction wasn’t simply about lack of discipline. It was about how the brain learns and reinforces patterns.

Instead of blaming himself, he began studying the mechanics of habit formation.

Studying the Brain Behind Addiction

In 2020, Aman completed his Health & Wellness Coaching certification from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). He followed this with advanced online studies in addiction psychology through programs connected to NIMHANS (Bangalore), the University of Michigan, and Johns Hopkins University.

What emerged from this work was a simple insight:

People don’t fail to quit nicotine because they are weak — they fail because they don’t understand how addiction actually works.

Nicotine, Aman explains, is not just chemical dependence. It is reinforced through emotional triggers, stress loops, and deeply embedded identity patterns. Many users believe nicotine relieves stress, when in reality it sustains the very cycle it appears to soothe.

“When people truly understand that mechanism,” he says, “the struggle shifts. It stops being a fight and becomes a process of awareness.”

Building a System — Not Motivation

From this framework, QSFS was created — not as a motivational seminar, but as a structured transformation system grounded in behavioral science.

Participants are guided through:

• Understanding addiction triggers

• Reframing emotional responses

• Identity-based habit rewiring

• Daily accountability practices

• Community reinforcement

Rather than forcing abstinence, the system teaches participants how to decode their own behavioral patterns.

“We don’t shame addiction,” Aman says. “We demystify it. When people understand what their brain has been repeating, they gain control naturally.”

This approach resonates strongly in India, particularly among long-term gutka and chewing tobacco users who often feel quitting is unrealistic after years of habit.

From Recovery to Ecosystem

As QSFS evolved, it expanded into a broader ecosystem. Graduates often continue into advanced programs such as Project Life Mastery and the Fit Parinde Health Community — environments focused on sustaining energy, discipline, and long-term growth.

The emphasis is not just on quitting nicotine, but on building routines that support mental clarity and self-direction.

Community plays a central role.

“Addiction grows in isolation,” Aman explains. “Transformation grows in connection.”

Many former participants — including doctors, entrepreneurs, and professionals — now mentor new members, reinforcing a culture of shared accountability.

Participants frequently report improvements that extend beyond nicotine freedom: better emotional regulation, increased productivity, improved sleep, and renewed confidence.

A Growing Movement

Aman has remained nicotine-free for over five years, but he views his personal success as only the beginning. Today, hundreds of participants across India and abroad have completed QSFS programs, many celebrating one year or more without relapse.

Unlike fear-based messaging or nicotine substitutes, QSFS focuses on neuroplasticity — the brain’s natural ability to rewire habits. The goal is not suppression, but understanding.

“You don’t defeat addiction by fighting it harder,” Aman says. “You dissolve it by understanding it better.”

This philosophy is particularly relevant in India, where chewing tobacco remains culturally embedded despite its serious health risks.

Looking Ahead

Based in Bengaluru, Aman now conducts live online programs that reach participants across the country. His work blends science, coaching, and lived experience into a format designed to feel accessible — even for individuals who have tried and failed to quit multiple times.

He describes the mission simply:

Make nicotine freedom practical, teachable, and repeatable.

For Aman, every participant who says “I’m finally free” is evidence that addiction is not a permanent identity — it is a learned pattern that can be unlearned.

In a country where nicotine use is often accepted as inevitable, QSFS represents a quiet shift in perspective:

Freedom is not willpower. It is awareness applied consistently.

And for thousands still struggling, that awareness may be the turning point they didn’t know was possible.