What Are Some Benefits of Quitting Smoking

You have heard for years that smoking is bad for your health. But have you ever stopped to think about what quitting smoking will actually do for you? Here are some health-related and non-health-related benefits of quitting smoking.

No matter what your age is, the health benefits of quitting smoking are significant and immediate. For starters, giving up smoking decreases the overall risk of death by 50% in 15 years as compared to people who continue to smoke. There are numerous cardiovascular benefits of quitting:

Heart Attacks – The risk of having a heart attack is decreased by 50% within 24 hours of quitting smoking.  This is due to turn-around of nicotine’s effects on your blood and heart. Nicotine makes the blood clot. Blood clots in the heart’s coronary arteries is what causes heart attacks.

After 2 years of living tobacco free, the risk of heart disease decreases to around the level of those who have never smoked. Stroke – The risk of having a stroke or a brain aneurysm (bleeding in the brain) decreases by 30-50% in those who quit smoking.

There are also benefits to the respiratory system:

Lung Cancer – After 15+ years of not smoking, the risk of lung cancer is decreased by 80-90%.

Smoker’s Cough – Within three months of quitting, the smokers’ cough disappears in most people.

Respiratory Function – A smokers lung capacity declines with age more rapidly than in non smokers. Even though stopping smoking does little to restore lost lung function, the decline in lung function tends to parallel that of non-smokers. In other words, quitting helps the lungs age slower.

Those who quit smoking also see benefits in their quality of life:

• Smelling and tasting senses improve within days.
• Alleviates harm to others from second-hand smoke exposure.
• Prevents fires.
• Work productivity increases.
• Self esteem increases.
• You save money. Have you ever thought about how much money you would save by not buying that pack of cigarettes every day. Over a span of 30 years, you would probably save enough money to buy a new sports car.

If you’re a smoker, please consider the benefits of quitting.