10 Reasons to Quit Smoking

Giving up smoking is easier said than done. You not only get addicted to smoking physically, but also emotionally and psychologically. This is more so if you have been smoking for many years.

There is a long list of diseases that is attributed to tobacco. Around 400,000 Americans die each year from tobacco-related illnesses! That is one every 80 seconds! Can you believe it? Quitting smoking will be the wisest decision you will be taking. Even if you have been smoking heavily for forty years, your health and quality of life will still improve dramatically after you quit.

Let us look at 10 benefits you will get from quitting smoking for good:

1. Improve Your Sense of Smell and Taste: Smokers experience a dulling of their senses of smell and taste. As a result, they can't appreciate the taste of many foods as intensely as they did before they started to smoke. Many experts believe that it is the loss of the sense of smell that diminishes the ability to taste. Cigarette smoke has the capacity to numb the senses. This numbing of the senses is so gradual that smokers hardly realize the difference. But once they quit smoking, the senses return to normalcy very swiftly. Food starts tasting better quite dramatically, and this can happen within a few days but may take up to three to six months in chronic smokers.
2. Prevent Premature Aging and Wrinkling of the Skin: Experts say that smoking causes your skin to wrinkle faster which will set in premature aging. This effect is seen not only on your face but also other parts of the body. Experts are of the opinion that smoking deprives the living skin tissue of oxygen by causing constriction of the blood vessels. As a result, blood doesn't get to your organs as easily, and that includes the skin. These biochemical changes cause the early aging process. Therefore, quitting smoking will help you look younger or at least your actual age.
3. Be Accepted Socially: The very reason why you started smoking could become the reason for you to quit now. There is a dramatic paradigm shift in the way people consider smoking now. Previously, it used to be very stylish to smoke. Now, as more and more awareness has developed about the adverse effects of smoking, especially second-hand smoking, many offices are banning smoking on their premises. This forces those who smoke to go outside and smoke. Even public places like restaurants and government office ban smoking on their premises. Therefore, if you want to be socially accepted, quit smoking.
4. Improve Your Health: Smoking has been associated with many health risks. Quitting smoking has the following health benefits:
   • Eliminates Smoker's Cough: Smoking affects the tiny hairs lining your respiratory tract from working properly. As a result, they are unable to sweep the mucus and debris off your lungs, thus resulting in mucus accumulation. This leads to the morning coughing spells, which are known as "smoker's cough." The American Cancer Society states that this cough will dwindle in 1 to 9 months.
   • Eliminates Shortness of Breath: The shortness of breath on exertion experienced by smokers is because smoking reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood. Once you stop smoking, this shortness of breath will diminish in 1 to 9 months, according to American Cancer Society.
   • Prevents Cardiovascular Disease: One of major reason to motivate yourself to quit smoking is the reduction in the risk of heart disease you will experience once you quit. After quitting and "staying quit" for 15 years, your risk of heart disease will be equivalent to a nonsmoker.
   • Prevents Lung Cancer and Lung Disease: Smoking leads to a lung disease called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This causes narrowing of the airways and shortness of breath that worsens over time. Experts say that cigarette smoking is responsible for 90% of the cases of lung cancer as also cancers of the throat, mouth, esophagus, and urinary bladder. The risk of lung cancer and other type of cancer as well as lung disease can be reduced greatly by quitting smoking.
   • Prevents Respiratory Infections: Smoking affects the function of the cilia, or tiny hairs, in the lungs. The job of the cilia is to keep the lungs clear. If they do not do their job, infections like bronchitis and pneumonia can set in. These can be avoided by quitting smoking.
   • Prevents Mental Decline: In the elderly, the rate of mental decline is up to five times faster in smokers than in nonsmokers, according to a study of 9,200 men and women over age 65. Quit and gain mental agility in your old age.
   • Reduces Risk of Autoimmune Diseases: Systemic lupus erythematosus, known as lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can cause inflammation, pain, and tissue damage throughout the body. Lupus can become quite severe sometimes. Smoking raises the risk of developing lupus greatly. Therefore, quitting can lower the risk drastically, according to an analysis of 9 studies.
   • Reduces Risk of Impotence: Men who smoked more than 20 cigarettes daily have a 60% higher risk of erectile dysfunction, compared to men who never smoked. Reduce the risk of impotence by quitting smoking.
   • Prevents Risk of Age-related Macular Degeneration: The risk of becoming blind from macular degeneration is 4 times more than those who have never smoked. Lower this risk by quitting.
   • Prevents Acid Reflux: Studies have shown that people who smoke for more than 20 years are 70% more likely to have acid reflux disease than nonsmokers.
   • Reduces the Risk of Breast Cancer: Smoking is linked to the prevalence of breast cancer in women. In a study, published in the Jan 7 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers looked at breast cancer risk among 116,544 women who reported their smoking status (California Teachers Study). Between 1996 and 2000, 2,000 of the women developed breast cancer. The prevalence of breast cancer among current smokers was 30% higher than the women who had never smoked. Ladies, time to throw that cigarette for good.
5. Save a Lot of Money: If you are not able to motivate yourself or someone else to quit smoking in any other way, probably writing down and calculating how much you spend on it yearly could do the trick. Smoking is definitely an expensive affair. What would you say if it was shown to you that the money you spent for smoking (not to forget the money you spent on the teeth-whitening products, breath mints, moisturizers, and hair care products which smokers need to keep their teeth, skin, and hair normal and glowing; as also the hospital bills you are going to incur as a fall out of smoking) during the last 10 years could have been utilized for buying the latest model of the brand of car you dreamt of or as a down payment for the fabulous penthouse you saw the other day. So decide now. At least, after the next 10 years, you will be able to say that you spent your money on better things.
6. Smell Better: Smokers are self-conscious about the smell of smoke on their clothes and in their hair. So why not make this aspect to motivate yourself out of this "smoky, smelly" habit?
7. Get Better Sleep: Experts say that smokers do not sleep well. The nicotine withdrawals they feel because they have not smoked for just seven or eight hours is the culprit here. Sleep being a vital aspect in maintaining health and quality of life and the fact that sleep deprivation can lead to crankiness, fatigue, blurry vision, loss of memory and stress, can be a fantastic point to motivate yourself out of this "deadly" habit.
8. Increase Your Life Expectancy: Experts say that quitting smoking is like gifting yourself 6 to 8 years more to live. Think of how productively you could utilize those 6 to 8 years. If a huge population quit smoking, imagine how clean and healthy environment that would make, for you to spend those extra 6 to 8 years!
9. Improve Physical Appearance: Imagine having a set of sparkling white teeth, a wrinkle-free and glowing skin, and thick lustrous hair. Experts say that smoking damages the hair follicles, stains the teeth, accelerates wrinkling of your skin. Therefore, quit smoking and transform back to the youthful person you once were.
10. Prevent Creation of Second-Hand Smoke: All the above reasons for quitting smoking can be termed selfish in a way as it revolves around your body. Because man is not an island and lives in a society surrounded by other people, many of them your loved ones, you have an obligation towards your loved ones not to harm them in any way. Second-hand smoke has been proven to cause cancer, asthma, and respiratory illnesses. More than 50,000 deaths occur in the United States due to second-hand smoking, according to the American Lung Association. A research done in February 2009 showed that 11-year-old children who were exposed to cigarette smoke developed problems with their blood vessels which are usually seen in elderly people with heart problems. Smoking also raises the chances of sudden infant death syndrome in babies.

All said and done, there is only one person who can motivate you to stop smoking, and that is YOU. Go ahead, choose whichever reason appeals to you, and start walking in the path of quitting smoking for good.