Did you know that when you stop smoking , the health benefits begin immediately? They start as early as a few minutes from your last cigarette! Within 20 minutes your heart rate drops, and within 12 hours the levels of carbon monoxide in your blood are dramatically down. Within 72 hours you should find that your sense of smell and taste improve as well.
The other benefits take slightly longer: for example, your circulation and lung function can improve anywhere between 2 weeks and 3 months of quitting. Between 1 month and 9 months of your last cigarette, coughing and shortness of breath should diminish a lot (it takes a while for the lungs to repair themselves, and for all of the pollutants to work their way out). After around 1 year, the risk of heart disease is half that of those who continue to smoke. Within around 5 years to 15 years, the risk of having a stroke is also halved, and there is a much reduced risk of contracting cancers of the mouth, throat and oesophagus (gullet). Also in this period of time the risk of lung cancer is about half that of someone who still smokes and there is accordingly less chance of developing cancers of the kidneys, bladder and pancreas.
After 15 years of not smoking, the risk of death and coronary heart disease is around the same as someone who has never smoked, would you believe! As you can see, the benefits are numerous, not only to one’s health, but also looks, senses (particularly taste and smell) and general fitness. Also the fact that you will no longer smell of smoke, which is very anti-social and off-putting for other people. So it should greatly benefit your relationships too.
In addition to all that, think how your finances will improve from not having this nasty, killer habit! Depending on how heavily you smoke, once you quit you could save around $5500 (£3500 )over the course of a year. (That is based on spending around $15 per day on cigarettes, as an average). That is a substantial amount of money. Just think what else you could do with it! To be quite frank, I don’t have much sympathy with people who claim they never have any money and can’t pay their bills, etc., but smoke like chimneys. That is a financial problem entirely of their own making. Not meaning to sound harsh and brutal, as I know how hard it can be to quit a habit when you are addicted to it. What I mean is, I have no time for the ones who won’t even try.
Hope you got something out of reading this blog, and I appreciate your votes and comments.
Picture courtesy of www.allfornursing.com