One of the best ways to motivate yourself to quit smoking is to look at the smoking facts and reasons why you should lay down your cigarettes. Reasons to quit smoking are numurous, so numorous that when writing a top 10 list like this many important reasons have to be left out. Ranking is difficult, so drop me a note through the commen box at the end of this post if you want to vote a reason higher on the list.
1. Reduce your chance of getting cancer
By quiting smoking you will reduce the chance of getting lung cancer, emphysema, and other lung diseases. Official statistics state that about 10 years after quitting, the risks of dying from lung cancer is 30 to 50 percent lower than for a person that continues to smoke. Now thats a good reason if I ever have seen one!
2. Reduce your chance of having a heart attack or stroke
Around 20% of all deaths from heart disease in the United States are specifically related to smoking. Quitting smoking will lower your risk of such a disease and possible death as a result.
3. Save A LOT of money
Each year, month, and week, you probably consume anywhere between 3 to 20 cigarettes per day. Assuming a 20-pack costs around $6 that adds up to $2200/year on the high. That’s a lot of money to save in these financially burdening times!
4. You will smell better
Ask any non-smoker for an honest opinion and they will say that smokers smell terrible. Ever been kissed by a non-smoker? Well, you are wise not to ask them what they think…
5. Get better sleep
A new reason to quit smoking has been discovered in the John Hopkins study where they saw that smokers were 4 times more likely to feel unrested after a nights sleep. Without reading the actual report one can speculate if nighttime for smokers give them mini-withdrawel effects.
6. Get rid of the morning cough
Morning coughs are reason enough to quit smoking. The chemicals in the smoke, and your bodies response to them, make morning coughs a regular part of waking up.
7. Stop getting wrinkles from smoking
Smoking can cause premature skin aging, which translates to wrinkles. No need to burden your face more than the passage of time already does for you.
8. Stop exposing others to your smoke
This should actually be higher up on the list, near the top. You know what, after considering this for a while, this should probably be the number 1 reason to quit smoking, especially if you have children. Exposing friends, family, or your children to your smoke not only sends a message that it is ok to smoke, it can also make them sick if they inhale your smoke second-hand. Anytime you potentially hurt others with your actions, you are on thin ice morally. Sorry for being stingy on this one (I have a girlfriend that smokes, yuk!).
9. You will get in better shape
Smoking has a negative effect on particular cardio activity, as smoking can reduce your maximal oxygen uptake by 10%.
10. Put another thing on your list of: What you control in life
Life is too unpredictable and short-lived to place bigger risks of dying, getting sick, making others sick, wasting money, etc, etc, etc, on your self. A large part of wellbeing is not to use energy on the things in life you don’t and can’t control. Your own smoking is definately something YOU can control.
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