Smoking is by far the most preventable cause for death and disease development in the USA. Each year 500,000 smoking-related deaths are registered in the USA alone, with 40,000 of these deaths being caused by second-hand smoking. The costs of treatments for smoking-related diseases go up to $300 billion each year.
Although every smoker is aware of the negative impact smoking has on their health, most of them choose to ignore the dangers and focus on the pleasant effects of their vice. After years of smoking, most people forget how they used to feel before they took up this habit. Here are some health improvements which can be easily noticed by people who choose to give up smoking:
- – After smoking a cigarette, your body needs between 20 – 30 minutes to bring your blood pressure back to normal levels.
- – After not smoking for 8 hours, your oxygen levels begin to normalize; this happens because the levels of carbon monoxide in your bloodstream get reduced to half, slowly letting the oxygen replace it.
- – After only two days of not smoking, the nicotine from your body disappears, your senses get heightened again (you become able to smell and taste better) and your chances of getting a heart attack significantly decrease.
- – After three days of not smoking, your general energy level increases.
- – After 14 days, your blood circulation increases and it will continue improving and normalizing for the next 8 to 10 weeks. This process will also cause your skin to look healthier.
- – After 3 to 9 months, your lungs regain 10% of their capacity. Due to this improvement, you no longer cough, you become able to breathe better and any respiratory problems decrease.
- – After 1 year of ceasing smoking, you reduce your chances of having a heart attack to half.
- – After 5 years, your chances of suffering a stroke or heart attack become the same as a non-smoker’s.
- – After 10 years, your chances of developing lung cancer become the same as the chances of a non-smoker.
- – After 15 years, your chances of developing cardiac problems become similar to a non-smoker.
Therefore, deciding to quit cigarettes might be difficult, on the short run. However, it is only responsible to think ahead and make decisions which may influence your life, as well as the lives of your loved ones, on the long run.