Everyone knows that smoking is extremely bad for health and contributes to the development of many chronic diseases and illnesses. However, if you do smoke you also know how difficult it is to stop. That said, there is a long list of reasons to quit smoking and the sooner you quit, the sooner you can reap the health rewards.
1. You’ll save money
Smoking is an expensive habit. Quitting will not only enrich your health but also your bank balance. If you’ve never calculated the cost of your smoking, you may be shocked to find out what it adds up to over an extended amount of time. Figure out what you spend in a week, month, and year, as well as over 10-year and 20-year periods.
2. You’ll have clean-smelling hair and clothes again
You may just have stepped out of the shower and put on freshly laundered clothes, but if you’re a smoker, there’s a good chance you stink of cigarettes and no amount of personal hygiene or expensive perfume can mask that.
3. You won’t have to brave extreme weather
As most public buildings across the world are now non-smoking, you won’t need to go outside several times a day and brave the wildest weather to get your nicotine fix.
4. There will be fewer chemicals going into your body
In addition to tobacco and nicotine, cigarettes also contain tar, arsenic, lead and another 7,000 dangerous carcinogens.
- Benzene can be found in pesticides and gasoline. It is present in high levels in cigarette smoke and accounts for half of all human exposure to this hazardous chemical.
- Formaldehyde is a chemical that, in liquid form, is used to preserve dead bodies. In gaseous form, it is responsible for some of the nose, throat, and eye irritation smokers experience when breathing in cigarette smoke.
- Vinyl chloride is a man-made chemical that is used to make plastics. Smokers are exposed to it through cigarette filters.
5. You’ll extend your life expectancy
Quitting smoking before the age of 40 slashes your risk of dying from a smoking-related disease by approximately 90 percent. Non-smokers live on average ten years longer than smokers.
6. You’ll stop snoring
Many people who smoke also snore, so quitting smoking will likely reduce both the frequency and loudness of snoring and in some cases solve the problem altogether. Smoking irritates the membranes in the nose and throat which can block the airways and cause snoring. While quitting is easier said than done, it can bring quick snoring relief.