We all know that smoking is bad for your health, but how can stopping make life better? We have a list of 5 ways your health will improve when you put down the cigarettes.
You will find it easier to breathe and cough less when you quit as your lung capacity improves by up to 10% within 9months of quitting.
If you're in your 20s and 30s, you may not notice much effect smoking is having on your lung capacity until you do cardio. However, lung capacity naturally diminishes with age.
In your later years, having a maximum lung capacity can be the difference from having an active and healthy old age compared to being out of breath and tired when walking or taking some stairs.
If you've ever tried to quit before you might have felt more stressed. This happens as withdrawals from nicotine can heighten the feeling of stress.
As the stress of withdrawal feels similar to other stresses, it's easy to confuse this with normal stress. This is why it feels like smoking is reducing stress.
However, this is not the case. In fact, scientific studies show people's stress levels are lower after they stop smoking.
When you give up smoking, your senses of smell and taste get a lift!
You may notice that food tastes and smells different as your mouth and nose recover from being dulled by the toxic substances that are found in cigarettes.
Giving up smoking stops teeth becoming stained, and you'll have fresher breath.
Ex-smokers are also less likely than smokers to get gum disease and prematurely lose their teeth.
Half of all long-term smokers die early from smoking-related diseases, these can range from heart disease to lung cancer.
Men who stop smoking by 30 can add 10 years to their lives and people who stamp out cigarettes at 60 years old add an extra 3 years to their life.
It's never too late to see the advantages of stopping. Being smoke-free not only increases your life span, it also greatly improves your chances of a disease-free, mobile, happier old age.
Need more advice on how to stop smoking? Get in touch with us today and quit for good with Anne Penman.