Why quit tomorrow when you can quit today? No more excuses! Motivation, that’s all you need to get rid of your bad habit. Therefore we present 10 good reasons to swear off cigarettes today, tomorrow and ever after.

Instant rewards

Only 8 hours after putting out your last cigarette, the nicotine and  carbon monoxide levels in your blood have halved already and oxygen levels are back to normal. After one year the risk of having a heart attack drops by more than 50 percent. After a day or two, there is no more nicotine in your blood and you may notice improved taste and smell.

Youthful appearance

When you quit smoking you get a free anti-aging treatment. Smokers generally look older because they get more wrinkles. After quitting blood circulation improves, resulting in a more youthful complexion. Smoking is just not sexy. Or what to think about smoker’s wrinkles, nicotine stained fingers and a grayish pallor.

Your kids are less likely to smoke

If both parents are non-smokers, chances that a child will start smoking drop with 71 percent. This is because children learn a lot by imitating their parents. And you have to admit, it’s hard to forbid something you do yourself. It is best to stop smoking before your kids reach the age of 8. That way you lower the risk of your kids picking up a cigarette by 39 percent.

Easier to get pregnant

Women who smoke are twice as likely to experience difficulties in getting pregnant. For men too smoking has a negative impact on fertility  because it lowers semen quality. If you are already pregnant, it certainly pays off to quit smoking. Smokers have a 20 percent increased chance of morning sickness in the first half of pregnancy and even 66% in the second half. More importantly, chances of having a low weight baby double when the mother is a smoker.

No more passive smoking

Did you know that only 15 percent of all cigarette smoke ends up in smokers’ lungs? The other 85 percent is inhaled by other people in your surroundings. Because a cigarette burns very slowly that 85% contains more toxins than the smoke that ends up in your lungs. Who are you to expose your partner, kids and colleagues to the more than 50 cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke?

More money

Smoking is expensive. One pack of cigarettes costs about $5.5, so one week of smoking a pack a day sets you back $38.5. On an annual basis this comes down to $2000 dollar spent on cigarettes. Don’t know about you, but we can think of better ways to spend our hard-earned money.

Goodbye cold hands and feet

When you quit smoking, blood circulation improves considerably. The whole body gets more oxygen, which results in more energy and warmer hands and feet.

Feel more relaxed

Doesn’t it sound great to be free again? No more craving for that next smoke, no more unnecessary tension, no more moodiness. You will feel relieved and more focused than ever.

Big smile

Did you know that cigarette smoke not only leads to yellow teeth and bad breath but also gum damage? Your gums will bleed easier and at worst you get a real gum disease that might cost your teeth.

A long and happy life

Who doesn’t want a long and happy life? On average non-smokers live fourteen years longer than people who smoke. Half of all smokers die from smoke related diseases like cancer or emphysema. If you don’t smoke you are also less likely to get cardiovascular diseases. After 15 smoke-free years the risk of a heart attack has dropped again to the level of someone who hasn’t touched a cigarette in their life.

Good luck,
Alison