15 benefits of quitting smoking: reasons to quit tobacco

The vast majority of the population knows that tobacco is bad for health, being linked to problems as serious (among many others) as a much higher probability of suffering from lung cancer, a decrease in life expectancy and severe respiratory problems (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and cardiovascular.

Although even today smoking is still socially well regarded, a large number of smokers consider trying to stop this dangerous dependency.

Although it is difficult and at first some anxiety usually appears, in the long run quitting smoking is highly beneficial. In order to make clear some of the advantages of achieving it, in this article we will see 15 Perks of stop smoking.

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Smoking: brief definition

Before starting to name the various benefits of quitting tobacco, it may be advisable to make a brief mention of the problem we are dealing with.

Smoking is defined as both physical and especially psychological dependence that a consumer manifests towards tobacco and

specifically towards its main component, nicotine. Said dependence comes from a progressive habituation to nicotine, the body having become accustomed to nicotine and requiring increasing amounts of tobacco to notice the same effects and appearing a series of physiological symptoms (for example anxiety)

The addiction to tobacco, although culturally and throughout history has been well regarded and has even been associated with moments of relaxation and socialization, ultimately has serious consequences for health when consumption continues for years.

As we mentioned in the introduction, it is linked to a decrease in life expectancy, it is usually behind the vast majority of COPD cases and influences other respiratory diseases, makes the blood vessels more fragile and brittle (something that also facilitates cardiovascular problems and favors the appearance of strokes), increases the level of fatigue before physical activity, can cause erectile dysfunction or malformations in fetuses and has been linked for years to the feared cancer of the lung. These are just some of the possible repercussions that its long-term maintenance can cause.

This information, together with other factors (the fact that it can also affect passive smokers, such as children, financial expenses or less ability to maintain a physical exertion, for example) cause many to try to quit, although the cessation of consumption usually generates withdrawal symptoms such as craving for consumption, anxiety and irritability.

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Quitting tobacco: benefits of cessation of consumption

Know the advantages for a smoker of quitting, mainly related to the cessation or reduction of the risks or effects of tobacco consumption, can contribute to visualizing the objective as something desirable. It is important to note that these benefits may not be experienced in some cases, where problems have already appeared that will be permanent.

Next we will see fifteen of the most common benefits.

1. Recovery of normal heart rate and blood pressure

This effect is probably one of the fastest to occur, since it appears twenty minutes after non-consumption. An improvement in lung capacity and circulation is also observed during the first month, and in both cases the improvement increases with the passage of time until reaching normality.

2. Life expectancy gradually returns to normal

Compared to a non-smoker, someone with tobacco addiction reduces their life expectancy based on consumption and the time it has been since they began to do so. Specifically, Quitting before age 30 usually implies a life expectancy ten years longer than those who continue to do so, while for those in their forties the average would be nine, at fifty six and sixty three.

3. The risk of cancer is reduced

Lung cancer is probably the disease with which smoking has traditionally been most associated. In addition to this, another of the most common in smokers is the trachea. These and others such as the bladder, pancreas or mouth are going to see how the cessation of consumption reduces its probability of appearance over time, decreasing by half after ten years.

4. Lung capacity recovers

Although some of the damage will never be reversed, as with life expectancy, part of the lung capacity recovers as the years without smoking go by.

Little by little, the typical bronchitis and coughing is reduced (although at the beginning of quitting tobacco, people tend to cough more than before as the body tries to expel mucus from the lungs), in addition to increase the amount of time you can sustain yourself with physical exercise. Fatigue usually decreases after the first month, in line with the progressive recovery of said lung capacity.

5. The risk of coronary and cerebrovascular disease is reduced

Another of the most common causes of death in smokers is coronary disease, something that little by little will be reduced as time passes without consumption. Already during the first year the risks are reduced by almost half, and after fifteen years without smoking it is estimated that the risk of coronary problems is already similar to that of a non-smoker.

In the same way, the probability of stroke is reduced to normal (in a period that can oscillate between five or ten years to arrive, depending on each case). It also decreases the risk of repeat coronary events.

6. Improves the immune system: less chance of getting sick

As a general rule, it has been observed that smokers tend to get sick more often than those who do not, being able to catch various infections more easily, for example. And it is that tobacco worsens the functioning of the immune system. As time goes by without the ex-smoker consuming, the ability of said system to defend itself from aggressions and harmful elements will increase again to normal.

7. Smell and taste return to normal

One of the alterations that smokers are probably aware of is the fact that little by little they will lose faculties in relation to olfactory and gustatory perception, given that the nervous system will gradually lose functionality over time. consumption. Fortunately, with a few days of abstinence, these senses return to normal functioning.

8. Decreases the likelihood of injuries, bone breaks and muscle problems

Although it may not be well known, the truth is that it has been observed that smokers have a greater tendency to suffer fractures and bone breaks or muscle injuries, and in turn tend to take longer to recuperate. The same occurs with surgical injuries. Quitting smoking may not recover the damaged structures, but it can return to normal the rate of tissue recovery.

9. Less dizziness and headaches

Although it does not occur in everyone, it is not uncommon for heavy smokers to experience dizziness and headaches caused by by the narrowing and increased fragility of the blood vessels in the brain, as well as by the lesser amount of oxygen that reaches this.

Those who quit smoking are likely to initially experience an increase in these symptoms, but depending on oxygen levels reaching the brain are improved These problems will gradually be reduced.

10. Contributes to improve sexuality

It is well known that smoking can cause a decrease in erectile capacity in men, something that can be reversed to the point of being able to recover normal erectile capacity (although it will depend on each case). And not only in the erection itself, but the desire and satisfaction achieved during intercourse is also greater in both sexes as they are not blood flow and oxygenation of erogenous zones hindered by the vasoconstrictor effects of nicotine.

11. Promotes fertility

Another of the possible effects of tobacco is the worsening and loss of quality of semen and sperm, making it difficult to have children. In addition to this, in case of pregnancy, the fact that the mother smokes can facilitate the appearance of alterations and malformations in the fetus, as well as spontaneous abortions. Quitting smoking decreases this risk.

12. Healthier skin and teeth

Tobacco also has an adverse effect on the skin, causing premature aging of it. The teeth are also affected, favoring the arrival of problems such as tartar and pyorrhea and coloring the teeth. Although in this sense the problems that have already appeared do not usually disappear (although the brightness of the skin is usually recovered as well as its elasticity), quitting smoking will prevent them from getting worse.

13. An effect on the economy

Although it is not a direct effect on health, the fact of quitting smoking also supposes the cessation of a habitual and constant expense, in addition to increasingly higher (as the price increases).

14. Strengthening self-esteem and self-efficacy

Quitting an addiction like tobacco is something that can be extremely hard for those who they suffer, since both their body and their mind have become accustomed to functioning with constant doses of nicotine. Being successful when quitting, therefore, requires perseverance and strength that, if the final objective is achieved, can promote improved self-esteem and confidence in their own possibilities.

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15. benefits to others

Not only is one's own health favored by cessation of smoking, but the usual close environment will also be less likely to suffer from some health problems derived from his condition as passive smoker.

Bibliographic references:

• American Cancer Society (n.d.). The benefits of quitting smoking over time. [On-line]. Available in: https://www.cancer.org/es/saludable/mantengase-alejado-del-tabaco/los-beneficios-que-ofrece-dejar-de-fumar-con-el-paso-del-tiempo.html
• World Health Organization. (s.f.). The main beneficial effects of quitting smoking. Tobacco Free Initiative [Online]. Available in: http://www.who.int/tobacco/quitting/benefits/es/.