5 benefits of quitting
1. Quit smoking to live longer
Half of all long-term smokers die early from smoking-related diseases, including heart disease, lung cancer and chronic bronchitis.
Men who quit smoking by the age of 30 add 10 years to their life. People who kick the habit at 60 add three years to their life.
In other words, it's never too late to benefit from stopping. Being smoke-free not only adds years to your life, but also greatly improves your chances of a disease-free, mobile, happier old age.
2. Stopping smoking lets you breathe more easily
People breathe more easily and cough less when they give up smoking because their lung capacity improves by up to 10% within nine months.
In your 20s and 30s, the effect of smoking on your lung capacity may not be noticeable until you go for a run, but lung capacity naturally diminishes with age.
In later years, having maximum lung capacity can mean the difference between having an active, healthy old age and wheezing when you go for a walk or climb the stairs.
3. Stop smoking gives you more energy
Within 2 to 12 weeks of stopping smoking your blood circulation improves. This makes all physical activity, including walking and running, much easier.
You will also give a boost to your immune system, making it easier to fight off colds and flu. The increase in oxygen in the body can also reduce tiredness and the likelihood of headaches.
4. Ditch the cigarettes and feel less stressed
The withdrawal from nicotine between cigarettes can heighten feelings of stress. As the stress of withdrawal feels the same as other stresses, it's easy to confuse normal stress with nicotine withdrawal. So, it can seem like smoking is reducing other stresses whereas this is not the case.
In fact, scientific studies show people's stress levels are lower after they stop smoking.
If you're finding that you are prone to stress, then replacing smoking with a healthier, better way of dealing with stress can give you some real benefits.
5. A smoke-free homes protects your loved ones
By stopping smoking, you'll be protecting the health of your non-smoking friends and family, too.
Breathing in secondhand smoke increases the risk of lung cancer, heart disease and stroke. In children it doubles the risk of getting chest illnesses, including pneumonia, ear infections, wheezing and asthma.
They also have three times the risk of getting lung cancer in later life compared with children who live with non-smokers.
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