Benefits of Not Smoking

We all know that cigarette smoking is injurious to our health. It can cause serious life-threatening conditions including cancer and heart diseases. It is responsible for millions of death all over the world every year. Still, people of all age group are indulging into smoking. It is not easy to quit smoking. However, when you know the short term as well as long term benefits of not smoking, you can persuade yourself to stay away from cigarettes.

Health Benefits of Not Smoking

There are so many serious effects of smoking of one's health. When you stop smoking the chances of contracting such deadly diseases becomes quite low. For instance, the risk of developing cancer is much higher in smokers than in non smokers. Lung cancer is most commonly found in smokers. Other forms of cancer that they can get includes blood cancer, brain cancer, breast cancer, pancreas cancer and so on. If you do not smoke for the next ten years, then risk of death from cancer would reduce to half.

Prolonged period of smoking leads to hardening and narrowing down of the blood vessels. This makes the smokers prone to high blood pressure, stroke and coronary heart disease. However, if you are not exposed to smoke for the past one year, then the risk of heart disease declines to a great extent. Similarly, avoid smoking for five years and the risk of stroke will be same as that of a complete non smoker.

There are several adverse effects of smoking on your sexual health. Men often suffer from impotence after heavy smoking because normal blood flow to the penis get badly affected by smoking. Many smokers can get low sperm count as the sperm produced by the body fails to survive longer. The chances of infertility is much higher in women smoking cigarettes regularly. Even the childbearing age of these women get shortened due to the influence of nicotine. They may reach menopause at an earlier age than non smoker women.

Smoking give rise to so many gastrointestinal problems. This happens because smoking tends to increase the acid production inside the stomach. This excess of acids often flows back into the esophagus and causes gastrointestinal reflux. As a result, you feel a constant burning sensation in chest and many other physical discomforts. You will be free from such uncomfortable physical symptoms caused by heartburn and indigestion once you quit cigarettes.

As soon as you stop smoking, the healing mechanism starts working actively and repairs the damage caused by smoking. Body temperature, blood pressure and pulse rate that tend to rise under the influence of nicotine, get normalized when you stop smoking for few days. The chronic cough that used to keep you awake during the night will stop bothering you within a month or two. When you breathe, you get a more refreshing feel. Your stamina and energy levels increases manifold within six months. The benefit of not smoking for a year is that the blood circulation of the body and functioning of the lungs improve considerably.

Personal Benefits of Not Smoking

There are several personal benefits that you earn yourself when you are not smoking. They are as follows:

• The loss of sense of taste and smell may have caused a lot of embarrassment for you in the past. But not anymore. These senses will be better within the first 48 hours of quitting smoking. It feels really good when you can sense smell all over again and you can feel the tastes of the foods that you are eating.
• When you smoke, you look much older than people of your age group who are non smokers. This is because of wrinkles on skin and discoloration of teeth and nails caused by nicotine. All these ugly stains will go and there will be marked improvement in the skin condition if you do not smoke any more.
• Cigarette is an expensive item and you have to spend thousands of dollars every year for this habit. By not smoking, you can save yourself a large sum of money every year.
• When you go out with your friends and family, you look out for suitable places for smoking because of smoking ban in public places. If you quit the habit, you need not worry about all such things and enjoy with your near and dear ones.
• When you will be plagued by any smoking related disease, then you have to depend on the family members for the rest of your life. That time you will feel sorry for being a smoker. So, stop smoking and lead your life freely the way you want.

Quitting smoking will help you to get a healthy and longer life. When you successfully quit smoking, it gives you a sense of accomplishment. It boosts your self-esteem and improves your personality. In short, smoking cessation is good for both your physical as well as emotional well-being.