Smoking is one of the most common habits in the world. Cigarettes are smoked by over 1 billion people who are nearly 20% of the world population. People smoke for different reasons and get addicted to it. They think of it, as a style statement and way to look mature among others. But this addiction has the worst adverse effect on the human body. Here we will guide you and run through the benefits of quitting smoking.
Smoking cigarettes cause harm to both nature and its creatures, like us. If you are a chain smoker then it is the right time to know why you need to quit smoking. Many social messages over quit smoking arrive daily. Let us tell you why you should take it seriously:
Physical side effects of quitting smoking:
Initially, when you start smoking, you will enjoy every puff of it. What a pleasure! What a feel good thing! But slowly the capacity of your body to hold on to the poison deteriorates.
- Smoking affects your lungs where your lungs capacity to inhale and exhale decreases drastically. Medically, nicotine present in a cigarette affects the alveolus, which acts a medium of gas exchange into the blood.
- Imagine your blood carrying nicotine to the most critical parts of your body, i.e., lungs, brain, heart, and liver. What happens? The organs lose its full functional capacity leading to a decrease in your metabolism which will attract all sorts of harmful bacteria.
- An active smoker, due to constant coughing, was advised by a doctor to go for a spirometry test. He was shocked to see the result. His FEV1 (forced expiratory volume) had a decreased value, and also FVC (forced vital capacity) showed a warning symbol. This symptom is nothing less than the obstructive pattern on spirometry. A typical disease which causes narrowing down of the lungs airways, thus killing you slowly.
- Smoking addiction leads to a decrease in appetite, insomnia, constant cold and cough. Eventually, a decrease in carrying out strenuous activities or even simple exercise like climbing 2 to 3 floors via stairs, decrease in lungs, brain and heart functionality. Thus leading to a slow and painful death. Most common prevailing disease in smokers is the lung disease leading to lung cancer.
How to get rid of the smoking habit?
Agreed that quitting on smoking is challenging, but it is not difficult. Think, plan, practice and act on some of the suggestions listed here above.
You already checked the effects of smoking. Now see the timeline to be followed to quit on smoking, aftermath, i.e., what happens when you stop smoking and last and the most important, the benefits.
Quit Smoking Timeline:
It is not difficult to quit smoking, but yes it is very challenging. The first and the principal thing what you need to do is program your brain that you are not going to smoke from now. Well, people who smoke 2 to 3 packs a day cannot stop smoking instantly, but yes, reduce as much as possible.
- Target a month or a 2-month timeline where at the end of the schedule you should proudly voice out that you have stopped smoking. Remember the race “slowly and steady.”
- Let your family know that you are going to stop smoking. This will help you to achieve the goal as per the recent study.
- Chew your urge, i.e., you will find a variety of chewing gums in the market which will have a nicotine kind of a taste. Buy them and start chewing if you feel like smoking.
- Get into a habit of exercising on a daily basis. i.e., walk, do yoga, go to the gym if you like to pull weights, get into doing aerobics.
- As far as appetite is concerned, go green, eat lots of green vegetables, drink at least 2 to 3 liters of water per day, eat food on time, and sleep for a minimum of 7 hours.
- Go for e-cigarettes available at various big supermarkets. These cigarettes are a look-alike of a regular cigarette but are battery powered and will release a minimal dose of nicotine with each puff which is less harmful than the nicotine present in the actual cigarette.
- Last but not least, don’t give up, try and try till you succeed.
What happens when you quit smoking?
Lots of advantages and benefits. In a matter of 20 to 30 minutes after your last cigarette, your heart rate will become standard as the effect of nicotine reduces because of no flow of nicotine in your body.
- Blood pressure gets into a healthy range.
- The body receives a sufficient amount of oxygen supplied to all the vital organs.
- Reduction in risk of coronary artery disease, the most common illness among smokers which leads to death.
- Your body capacity to perform strenuous activity increases, you will be easily able to climb up, carry weights, run, and jog.
- Your lung capacity will increase.
- As the flow of nicotine reduces in your body, you might experience a mild headache, sweating, irritability, and a little depression. These are nothing but the withdrawal symptoms which will fade away after 2 to 3 days of quitting smoking. So don’t give up a try and overcome these symptoms with the above activities which I have mentioned.
- After a couple of years of no smoking, your risk of getting heart and lung disease reduces and your lifespan increases.
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