Reasons to Quit Smoking

Another new year starts and another round of new year resolutions are kicked off.
If your New Years resolution is to quit smoking then well done for realising that this one single act will go a long way to improving your health, fitness and overall life span. If you are not yet convinced then here are a few reasons why you might want to reconsider.

Did you know that tobacco is the only legally available consumer product that kills people when used entirely as intended? No wonder wannabe ex-smokers try to kick the habit. But it's not as easy as us non-smokers think. Nicotine encourages changes in your brain structure that are believed to cause addiction. Addiction can come on pretty quickly. A 4 year study in the US of 1200 adults showed that one in ten of those who took part demonstrated signs of addiction within 2 days of starting to smoke. Even smokers who only smoked a few cigarettes a day experienced withdrawal symptoms when deprived of nicotine.

About 50% of all smokers will eventually be killed by their habit. Smoking causes 30% of all cancer deaths (84% of lung cancer deaths are related to smoking) and about 15-16% of all heart disease deaths. Smoking costs the NHS £1.7 billion a year and kills around 114,000 people a year in the UK alone and 438,000 in the US.

Smoking causes a build up of fatty deposits in your arteries which puts a strain on your heart. Also, tar build up in the lungs eventually causes lung cancer. In the mean time smokers can also suffer from a variety of other respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, infections and emphysema. Smoking is also related to a string of other diseases and problems in the intestine, veins, eyes, skin and reproductive organs.

The long term benefits of giving up smoking are; after one year your risk of coronary heart disease is cut by half and after 10 years your risk of developing lung cancer is halved.

The short term benefits are; more money in your pocket, less respiratory related illness. More efficient oxygen distribution within your body, so overall your body will begin to function much better.

So take the plunge in 2008 and quit for your own health.