For Once…It’s Good to Be a Quitter!

Did you grow up with the firm belief that once you start something, you don’t quit?  Smoking breaks that rule in a good way.  When you quit smoking, you’ll be applauded for being a quitter. 

 Not only that, but you get immediate benefits!  Consider these rewards for quitting: 20 minutes after you stop smoking, your heart rate slows down to a calm, steady beat, lowering your blood pressure. 

Eight to twelve hours later, the dangerous carbon monoxide that smoking causes in your blood has now dropped to a normal level.  Carbon monoxide causes flu-like symptoms – from everyday fatigue to headaches, sleepiness, and nausea.

Two days later, your heart attack risk is lower and continues to decline over the next three months. You’ll suddenly notice you don’t need as much salt (thanks to a return in the sensitivity of your taste buds) – and the air smells fresh (now that your sense of smell has returned).  Three days later you might feel like going for a jog – because your energy is going to skyrocket.

After the first month, you have fewer instances of that annoying, hacking smoker’s cough because your bronchial tubes are on the mend.  Whenever your bronchial tubes are irritated, they produce excess mucus, so eliminate the cigarettes, and you say goodbye to the need to clear your throat constantly.

A few months later, you’ll be taking the stairs without gasping for a breath.  When you move more, your circulation will benefit more because the cigarettes haven’t constricted your blood vessels. Just one cigarette reduces the blood flow throughout your body for an hour.

            The health improvements continue long after you quit smoking. Your gift at the first anniversary of quitting is that your risk of coronary heart disease becomes half that of what you risked as a smoker.

Make it to your fifth year smoke-free and your risk of stroke is the same as a non-smoker. That’s really amazing!  In ten years, your lungs become stronger and your chances of dying from lung cancer are only half as great as if you continued to smoke.

            Here’s another benefit - you’ll keep aging signs at bay.  The mouth suction that you use to puff on the cigarette is terrible for producing or deepening wrinkles.  When you stop smoking, you give those facial muscles a well deserved rest.

            Other risks decrease when you end your smoking habits.  Here are a few more to consider:

·       Cancer

·       Cardiovascular Disease

·       Impotence

·       Infertility

·       Macular Degeneration

·       Periodontal Disease

·       Ulcers

All of these health woes put a drain on the healthcare system.  Aside from the fact that smokers take more sick days than non-smokers, resulting in a loss of productivity, smoking is considered the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.

Read this section again and think about how much you’ll improve your health every day that you choose not to be a smoker.  This doesn’t even include the way it affects your loved ones – either through secondhand smoke or just because they want you to stick around for a long time.

Next article on 21st June 2012 on "What You Can Expect During Withdrawal"

cheers and all the best,

Bobby