Health: 6 Good Reasons To Quit Smoking
When you're a smoker, quitting tobacco is one of the best decisions you can make to improve your health and quality of life. For those who want to quit smoking but need to boost their motivation before embarking on nicotine withdrawal, here are 6 good reasons to stop smoking.
Make substantial savings.
With the steady increase in the price of cigarette packs, all smokers are aware that their addiction is costly. But few of them truly realize the savings they could make if they managed to quit smoking.
In times of inflation, when many French people are looking to save money, this calculation can be an excellent motivation to stop using tobacco.
Consider this: a person who smokes a pack a day at €10.50 each saves €73.50 per week, €315 per month, and €3832 per year! If you smoke less than a pack a day and are content with 4 packs a week, the savings still amount to €42 per week, €168 per month, and €2184 per year.
Improve one's health and appearance.
Upon quitting smoking, you will begin to notice an improvement in your overall health. In just a few days, your sense of taste and smell will improve, and breathing becomes easier. Quitting smoking allows you to feel less hoarse, less short of breath, and more energetic.
It's not always top of mind, but quitting smoking also has a positive impact on appearance. One of the most visible effects of tobacco is that it yellows teeth and causes bad breath in smokers. But that's not all! Smoking is also very damaging to the skin and hair.
Smoking promotes wrinkles and the appearance of brown spots on the face. It makes the complexion and hair duller and grayer. Therefore, giving up cigarettes is a good way to achieve whiter teeth, a clearer complexion, and more beautiful hair.
3- Increase one's life expectancy.
Smoking being a major risk factor for cancer and numerous heart and lung diseases, quitting smoking allows to increase one's life expectancy.
The benefits on the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and lung cancer are very real, regardless of your age when you quit smoking.
Just one year after saying goodbye to tobacco, your risk of myocardial infarction is cut in half and your risk of having a stroke is equivalent to that of a non-smoker.
Protect the health of loved ones.
Quitting smoking is one of the best resolutions you can make to protect your health and that of your family. The smoke you exhale while smoking or that is emitted from your cigarette burning in an ashtray is inhaled by everyone around you, including non-smokers and children.
Secondhand smoke, meaning being regularly exposed to tobacco smoke and the many toxic substances it contains, promotes asthma, infections, and ENT diseases in children. This often underestimated scourge increases the frequency of rhinopharyngitis and ear infections and leads to an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome in babies.
Set a good example for one's children.
By quitting smoking, you become a role model for those around you, especially your children. Did you know that your children have a 30% chance of becoming smokers between the ages of 11 and 14 if you smoke, compared to 8% for children of non-smokers?
It is also estimated that teenagers with family members who smoke are four times more likely to smoke themselves. That's why the desire to set a good example for one's children is one of the good reasons to quit smoking.
By weaning yourself off cigarettes, you can also inspire other adults and encourage your relatives, friends, and colleagues to quit in turn.
6- Cleanse one's home.
Even if you think that smoking is a personal choice, your tobacco consumption has an impact on those around you and on your environment. Cigarette smoke is composed of 90% gases and 10% particles. It contains over 4000 chemical substances, including more than 50 carcinogens and is one of the worst indoor air pollutants in homes.
You may not be aware, but three cigarettes smoked in 30 minutes emit 10 times more harmful particles than a diesel engine idling for the same duration!
In homes and cars, the air pollution related to tobacco lingers long after the cigarette has been extinguished. Toxic particles settle on surfaces and become embedded in textiles like curtains and carpets where they can remain for several months, or even years in an enclosed space like that of a vehicle…
Another good reason to quit smoking is therefore to improve the atmosphere in your home. Thanks to smoking cessation, surfaces like windows and walls no longer yellow, the house gets dirty less quickly, and the smells of cold tobacco disappear. Your living environment becomes healthier and your quality of life is automatically enhanced.
