Looking at actor Zheng Geping's muscular physique, you would think that he must be a health fanatic.

But, in a video posted online, the 55-year-old has revealed that he was once addicted to smoking, puffing his way through two packs a day at one point.

"I started smoking during my national service days out of curiosity.

"My family had always asked me to quit, especially my mum who nagged at me.

"I also tried quitting several times but I wasn't successful."

But he heeded the warning signs of what the habit could do to him, health-wise, when he found himself breathless 12 years ago.

"Whenever I exercised, I felt breathless and even sudden chest pain. It was really a wake-up call for me, so I told myself I have to stop smoking."

He revealed that it was hard to do so at first and that he tried to curb the urge by going to the gym and drinking plenty of water.

Zheng added that if smokers have made a new year resolution to quit, they should stay the course and not get discouraged even if the going gets hard.

"Don't feel bad if you attempted and failed.

"As the saying goes, fall seven times, stand up eight times, because it took me four times to quit completely," he wrote in a caption for the video.

Zheng, who is married to actress Hong Huifang, 59, has moved on to flex his muscles as an executive producer of Channel 8 dramas too.