The Benefits of Quitting Smoking
Smoking is one of those habits that is so incredibly pleasurable to smokers. That is one of the reasons why it is so hard to kick the habit. All the comments made by non-smokers, and ex-smokers in particular, can be so incredibly unhelpful! You are made to feel as if you should “just” stop. Smoking is an incredibly difficult addiction to recover from and you really need strong will-power to achieve it. Have a read of all the benefits below and hopefully it will increase your will-power and help you stop smoking.
Financial Benefits
Work it out! A pack of cigarettes costs around £6 now. If you, like most people, are really a 20 a day smoker that means that you save £42 a week, £182 per month or £2184 per year. If you were to physically put the money in a jar every day, this would mean you could treat yourself to some clothes every week, a nice meal out every month or a fantastic holiday every year. Not a bad benefit!
Health Benefits
If you stop smoking, you reduce the risk of getting many smoking-related illnesses, such as lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease, etc… You also reduce your risk of getting illnesses that are not directly related to smoking, such as fertility problems and cataracts. And of course, it reduces the risks of pregnancy complications if you are smoking when pregnant.
Social Benefits
Just think, no more people fake coughing when you light up (or even walk past with some ex-smokers!), no more standing outside in the cold and rain when you go out or in a non-smoker’s house. The social benefits really should not be overlooked.
Time Line of Benefits
After 72 hours, you will find it easier to breathe and your energy levels will increase. Go for a run instead of having a cigarette at this point. Your taste buds will also start to improve, meaning everything will taste and smell better than it did before. After one month, your skin will look more radiant and healthy. This means you could potentially save more money by no longer needing skin care products.
Between three and nine months, you will start to cough and wheeze a lot less and your lung capacity will improve by at least 10%! After one year, your risk of a heart attack falls to about half of that of a non-smoker. After ten years, your risk of lung cancer falls to about half of that of a non-smoker. After fifteen years, your risk of a heart attack is the same as that of someone who has never smoked in their lives.
So if you are ready to make that all important first step towards stopping smoking, motivate yourself with some of the great benefits involved with kicking the habit. Regularly remembering why you are doing this will increase your will-power and make you more likely to succeed. And make sure you decide what you will be treating yourself to with all the money you have saved!
There is plenty of help out there, from the NHS Quitline to private organisations like the National Smoking Cessation Institute who have a bank of people who specialise in stop smoking acupuncture and hypnotherapy to stop smoking, most regions in the UK are covered from Liverpool and Manchester, Birmingham, London, Hove and Brighton, so if hypnotherapy or acupuncture are your thing you should give the NSCI a try.