AFTER surviving the turmoil of Cambodian politics for two and a half decades, Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that he is ready to tackle a more personal challenge – quitting smoking.

“For those who don’t smoke already, it’s better not to start … I also plan to stop smoking,” he said during the inauguration of the new Ministry of Commerce building in Phnom Penh on Thursday.

“When my children got married, [I] promised that I would stop smoking when I had grandchildren,” he said.

“But now my grandchild is one year and seven days old, and I still haven’t stopped.”

However, the prime minister says he’s already cut down on his smoking habit significantly, and that he does not suffer from nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

“I don’t smoke during flights or when participating in other international meetings,” he added.