Our body undergoes certain healthy changes when we give up this bad habit.
Reasons to stop smoking
We all know that smoking is bad, but right off the bat it’s not easy to give up your battle buddy. Whether for disappointments or celebrations, the cigarette is always there if we need it.
Unfortunately tobacco is really harmful. Here are the main reasons to quit smoking. If we stop for a moment and realize the true consequences of smoking, we will see that it is something really dramatic.
We are going to know below the different benefits of quitting smoking .
1. Escape from death
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that tobacco kills more than 7 million people a year. In addition, every smoker’s quality of life declines, and countless millions of people develop a wide variety of tobacco-related diseases.
Tobacco is known to cause lung cancer. In fact, for every ten people who suffer from lung cancer, nine have been caused by tobacco.
But the relationship between smoking and cancer does not end here. Smoking can cause cancer in almost every part of the human body : blood (leukemia), colon and rectum, esophagus, pancreas, stomach, trachea, kidney, larynx, cervix, liver, mouth, nose, throat, bladder.
2. Safeguard the health of those around us
Of the 7 million people who die annually from tobacco, 1 million of them are passive smokers. Being a smoker is a personal choice, but if we are smokers our loved ones do not have to lose their health with it.
Passive smoke mainly affects older children with respiratory problems , but also our pets. Many cases of dogs have been diagnosed with lung cancer, while in cats lymphoma and oral cancer are very prevalent.
3. Rest better
Not many are aware that tobacco affects rest , and that smoking multiplies by four the chances of developing sleep disorders. These sleep disturbances are mainly due to the drop in nicotine concentration at night.
But when you wake up the problems do not end. Smoking cigarettes makes you want to drink more coffee. Tobacco shifts the body’s metabolism toward caffeine, causing it to break down more quickly and prompting the person to drink more coffee.
Therefore, by quitting smoking, you are also more able to quietly reduce the amount of coffee you drink, improving your quality of sleep and your mood.
4. Don’t spend money
Smoking is a daily expense that may seem affordable at first glance , but by calculating weeks or months ahead, the amount of money that is being lost is understood. In fact, the World Health Organization urges to increase its prices as a preventive measure so that it is harder for us to spend money on tobacco.
If all this daily expense could be put aside and used at the end of the year for some whim or need, wouldn’t we have a better life? Having money for some unexpected need, a gesture for someone you love or giving yourself a prize (such as a trip) is much more positive than continuing to smoke.
Spending money on tobacco is totally lost capital, better to invest it in something positive!
5. Be younger
If health or money don’t seem like enough compelling reasons to quit smoking, maybe you should be interested on an aesthetic level as well .
Smoking accelerates the aging processes of our tissues. The blood vessels and the many organs suffer wear, but the skin is the organ that manifests it most externally. The synthesis of collagen in the skin is particularly affected by the free radicals generated by tobacco, which is why the skin loses its elasticity and smoothness.
6. Do not ruin your teeth
Teeth are also not friends with smoke. Smoking causes teeth to turn yellow, and teeth that color are unattractive.
Although tobacco also affects the health of your teeth, those who suffer the most are the gums. Tobacco addiction is the cause of the development of diseases of this part of the mouth such as periodontitis and gingivitis.
7. Smoking is a loser
Decades ago, and although it may seem incredible today, tobacco managed to be in the most prestigious marketing campaigns for most of the 20th century. Handsome Hollywood actors appeared in advertisements smoking, something very masculine at first, but tobacco later also meant modernity and a symbol of emancipation for women.
Far from past fashions in which smoking was seen as something very cool, today those who smoke are closer to generating pity and compassion than admiration .
Gone is the fact that men would like to resort to tobacco to look more like men. Wanting to gain respect by smoking is almost something that some teenagers want to do to appear more “bad”.
The girls who smoked also sought to project independence as well as femininity, but in both cases it is increasingly perceived as less sexy.
8. Avoid the bad smell of clothes
The smell of tobacco smoke and other substances that are present in cigarettes such as tar and multiple additives continue to smell after smoking.
Every smoker will have noticed that after smoking in a closed space, or even open, the clothing is impregnated with tobacco smoke .
If a smoker can offend himself with this bad smell, there is no need to talk about how it can upset a non-smoker.
9. Halitosis
The bad smell of cigarettes continues to smell even despite showering and changing clothes on ourselves once the smoke has entered our body.
Bad breath is something that affects some people , but tobacco can make it worse, and also generate it. The dry mouth associated with smoking, plus the irritation of the mucous membranes and the respiratory tract are factors that affect the lack of hygiene and oxygenation of the mouth.
If we have a partner or are looking for one, smoking will probably not be the best option. Nobody likes to kiss a mouth that evokes smells of smoke and ashes.
10. Enjoy the flavors of food
Smoke alters the perception of flavors . The sense of taste is reduced because the taste buds are affected by receiving less blood. The tongues of smokers have less blood supply, affecting these taste sensors.
Quitting smoking is essential to enjoy food to the fullest, since it is necessary to avoid atrophied taste buds with morphological and functional alterations due to tobacco.
Bibliographic references
- Carr, A. (1998). Quitting smoking is easy, if you know how. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe
- Doll, R., Peto, R., Wheatley, K., Gray, R. y Sutherland, I. (1994). Mortality in relation to smoking: 40 years’ observations on male British doctors. BMJ. 309 (6959): 901–911.
- Villeneuve, P.J. y Mao, Y. (1994). Lifetime probability of developing lung cancer, by smoking status, Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health. Revue Canadienne De Sante Publique, 85 (6), 385–388.
- Rizzuto, D., Fratiglioni, L. (2014). Lifestyle factors related to mortality and survival: a mini-review. Gerontology, 60 (4), 327–35.
- Samet, J.M. (2013). Tobacco smoking: the leading cause of preventable disease worldwide. Thoracic Surgery Clinics, 23 (2), 103–12.
- Doll, R. (1998). Uncovering the effects of smoking: historical perspective. Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 7 (2), 87–117.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.