Reasons to Quit Smoking or Reasons not to Start

Your Health

There are so many reasons to quit smoking and today their are many resources available to help you quit.  Doctors can prescribe you pills that lessen the enjoyment of the cigarette, hypnosis can make you cringe at the thought of taking the usually pleasurable puff, and nicotine replacement therapies can help you get over the often painful nicotine withdrawal symptoms.  If you continue to smoke you run the risk of developing several life threatening diseases, many of which are completely preventable if you give up your cigarette addiction.

These diseases are smoking-related diseases. That means they are at least partially caused by smoking. Smokers have a much higher chance than non-smokers of getting these diseases and health conditions:

  • Cancer of the lungs, mouth, nose, and throat
  • Leukemia
  • Cancer of the kidney, bladder, pancreas, cervix
  • Emphysema and Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; obstruction of air through the lungs)
  • Heart Disease
  • Atherosclerosis (fatty deposits in the arteries)
  • Buerger's disease (which can lead to gangrene)
  • Atheroma (hardening of the arteries)
  • Chronic Bronchitis
  • Gum disease
  • Tooth loss
  • Osteoporosis
  • Cataracts
  • Macular degeneration
Smoking can make the symptoms of these conditions much worse:
  • Asthma
  • Common colds and flu
  • Chest infections
  • Tuberculosis
  • chronic rhinitis
  • diabetic retinopathy
  • hyperthyroidism,
  • multiple sclerosis
  • Crohn's disease
Your Baby
Smoking can not only have devastating effects on your health but it can also have negative effects on the health of your unborn baby. Pregnant women who smoke pose these threats to their fetuses:
  • Miscarriage
  • Stillbirth
  • Premature birth
  • Ectopic pregnancy
  • Detachment of the placenta
  • Low birth weight
  • Congenital defects such as cleft palate
  • Death within the first week of life
  • Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
  • Poor long term growth and development
Others' Health
When you smoke a cigarette, in addition to harming your own health you are also harming the health of those around you. This is because of second hand smoke - smoke that you exhale, and the smoke that you don't inhale, gets breathed in by others around you. The risks you pose to others who are exposed to your cigarette smoke are the same as those risks that you pose to yourself.

Cosmetic and Lifestyle Concerns
Not only do smokers put their health in danger, but their quality of life can also decrease because of their smoking. Cosmetic and lifestyle issues that may affect a smoker are:

  • Smelly clothes, skin, and hair that puts nonsmokers off
  • Reduced sense of taste and smell
  • Higher cost of living due to the cost of cigarettes, more medical expenses, and higher insurance premiums
  • Risk to potential romances and friendships - many find smoking unattractive
  • Smoking increases the chances and severity of snoring
  • Faster ageing process, meaning more wrinkles at an earlier age and looking older than you actually are
  • Reduced fertility
  • Earlier menopause
  • Higher incidence of impotency
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