I used to smoke cigarettes every single day. On an average day I would smoke at least 10. However on a weekend this number would rise, especially when I was drinking alcohol. About six months ago I decided to quit smoking. If I am honest, the decision to quit was a tough one (I actually enjoyed smoking).
I decided to write this post to explain the reasons why I quit smoking cigarettes. Hopefully my reasons will inspire you to quit if you’re a smoker or discourage you if you’re thinking of starting.
Health Reasons
Everyone knows that smoking is bad for you. Cigarettes contain more than 4,000 chemical compounds and at least 400 toxic substances. The most harmful products are:
- Nicotine. Addictive and increases cholesterol.
- Tar. Substance that causes cancer.
- Carbon Monoxide. Reduces oxygen in the body.
People associate smoking with many diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, the thought of developing one of these diseases wasn’t my main reason to quit smoking.
I had been a smoker for more than 5 years and I could feel my health deteriorating slowly. I started to suffer from a persistent smokers cough. I would cough all day and night. Not only was I finding this annoying, others around me would find it irritating too, especially my girlfriend who I would keep awake all night by my constant coughing. My own cough would even keep me awake at night. I never seemed to have a good night’s sleep and I frequently felt tired throughout the day.
I also noticed that my fitness was suffering. Smoking affected my workout routines, especially when performing high intensity interval training. I was trying to lose body fat and build lean muscle at the time, and smoking was stopping me from achieving my workout goals.
Smoking reduces your fitness due to the following reasons:
- Smoking increases your heart rate and blood pressure. This reduces your physical endurance.
- Smoking damages your alveoli (the tiny air sacs), making your lungs less elastic and less able to absorb oxygen. Smoker’s lungs have less surface area and fewer small blood vessels. Therefore the lungs receive less food and oxygen which they need when working out.
- When exercising, your heart and lungs need oxygen-rich blood. Tobacco introduces carbon monoxide to your system, and when combined with haemoglobin in the red blood cells, the ability to deliver oxygen to your heart and lungs is reduced.
Smoking affects your physical fitness in many ways. In comparison to a non-smoker:
- You can’t run as far or fast.
- You will reach exhaustion quicker.
- You will have less muscular strength and flexibility.
- You will obtain fewer benefits from physical training.
I would also get tired easily when having sex. I had to take breaks during sex as I didn’t have the stamina or lung capacity to keep up. It was very embarrassing.
Financial Reasons
Cigarettes where I live in the UK are very expensive and the price per pack keeps rising each year. Before quitting I decided to work out how much I have roughly spent over the past five years. Just say I smoked 10 cigarettes per day for five years at an average cost of £3.50 per pack:
£3.50 per pack x 365 days a year x 5 years = £6,387.50 or approx $3,960.
I think you would agree that £ 6,387.50 is a lot of money and could be better spent on something else. My money was literally going up in smoke!
I now save the money I used to spend on cigarettes and it’s surprising how much and how quickly the money adds up. I now have enough money saved up to go on a 2 week all inclusive holiday!
Time Wasted
I decided to carry out the same sort of exercise as above with the cost of cigarettes, but instead work out how much time I have wasted standing outside smoking. Just say it takes me 5 minutes to smoke a cigarette. That’s 50 minutes a day which is 18,250 minutes a year. There is 1,440 minutes in a day so that equates to 13 whole days approx a year that I spend filling my lungs with smoke. It is also said that smoking takes between 5-15 minutes off your life so if you take this into account then the loss of time is even greater!
Sexual Attractiveness
Smoking was ruining my sex appeal. Not only would it make my clothes smell, it also made my breath stink. I always felt conscious around women because of this. I would spray a fragrance after having a cigarette to try and mask the stale smell of smoke on my clothes. I would also eat mints after each cigarette to freshen my breath. However if I didn’t have a fragrance or any mints to hand, I would smell of stale smoke all day, which isn’t attractive.
Cigarettes can also affect the way a person looks. I noticed that I was beginning to lose my hair. Smoking reduces the amount of nutrients that reach the hair, causing premature hair loss. This is when I decided that enough was enough and it was time for me to quit smoking.
Smoking cigarettes can also affect your appearance in the following ways:
- Premature wrinkles. Smokers can develop deep facial wrinkles around the corners or their mouths and smokers lines around the lips.
- Bad complexion. Smokers are more prone to breakouts and blemished skin.
- Yellow teeth. Chemicals such as nicotine discolour your teeth.
- Poor skin tone. Reduced oxygen to the skin makes skin appear grey-toned.
- Weight gain. Smokers have reduced lung capacity and therefore tire easily during exercise. A lot of smokers don’t exercise at all leading to weight gain and poor body tone.
Serious About Quitting?
If you want to quit smoking, then you need to try Rob Mellor’s Quit Smoking Today Program. I found it almost impossible to quit smoking until I listened to his audio program. I can honestly say that after listening to his program, I learnt how to deal with cravings, short tempers and other side effects of nicotine withdrawal. This program definitely helped me quit smoking…..Click Here To Try It Out!
Start Today!
Quitting cigarettes was tough and took a lot of wheel power. However the Quit Smoking Today Program really helped me deal with the withdrawal symptoms. I haven’t smoked now for six months and I feel healthier, fitter and a lot happier. If you want to quit smoking read my post 5 Useful Steps To Quit Smoking.
Remember to try out Rob Mellor’s Quit Smoking Today Program to help you kick the dirty habit!
To Your Success!
Steve Harold
