9 great health benefits of quitting tobacco smoking
Every smoker sometimes thinks about the possible health benefits of quitting smoking. Most have tried to quit smoking at some time, but sometimes it is convenient to have a little help to understand well what we are at stake in the company of cigarette smoke.
This article reviews the basic reasons why it is wise to stay away from tobacco. In this way we will try to convince whoever is still a smoker to convey how much we lose if we continue smoking, and how much we would gain if we quit.
Stop smoking tobacco and its top 9 health benefits
As we will see below, tobacco causes a multitude of real and potential problems. It increases the risk that we have of suffering from a multitude of diseases, highlighting those of cardiovascular, respiratory, and those associated with cancer.
But that is not all; Below we see what are the main health benefits of quitting tobacco smoking.
1. Breathe better
Carbon monoxide is a substance found in tobacco smoke and makes us feel that we lack more breath than it should after doing some kind of exercise or physical effort.
Well, after 24 hours of quitting smoking we will have normal blood concentrations. From there, functioning improves over time, symptoms such as coughing disappearing. The lungs can regenerate and expel more and more toxins so that after months we can run again without getting so tired.
2. Have less chance of developing cancer
The smoker suffers from many complications in many diseases that can kill you, but cancer is probably the most feared cause.
Lung cancer is the cancer most associated with smoking, but smoking also causes cancer in many other parts of the body: colon, pancreas, trachea, kidney, larynx, cervix, mouth, nose, throat, bladder. stomach, blood,... the list is almost endless. And the death of many of these cancers is hard indeed.
3. Have less chance of developing cardiovascular disease
The heart and the circulatory system in general also suffer a lot from tobacco Athough it does not seems. The complications that it entails are several: arteriosclerosis, hypertension, acute infarction of myocardium, stroke, ischemic disease, sudden death, aortic aneurysm abdominal, ...
Recovering cardiovascular health is not something that ex-smokers can recover in a jiffy, since it takes years more than 10 years to equate the risks of an ex-smoker to those of a smoker.
4. Sleep better
Smoking tobacco increases the chances of suffering from sleep-related disorders. That we do not have nicotine during the night stresses our body, because it needs the substance that it is not receiving.
By quitting smoking we can give our body a break so that it can simply disconnect from everything without needing this external substance. Our body needs to rebuild itself overnightIt is the moment in which it takes advantage to regenerate many tissues, and by guaranteeing a good rest we also allow to be in better shape and younger.
5. Recovery of the sense of smell
The smoker suffers from something that may seem minor but is sad, and that is food is not enjoyed the same as when it is not smoked. It has been shown that the taste buds, those sensors that we have on the tongue and that allow us to recognize tastes, are significantly damaged by tobacco.
The origin of this affectation is that the taste buds do not get enough blood through the bloodstream if we smoke, so they are partially atrophied. Do not hesitate, if you stop smoking you will enjoy more of this other pleasure in life that is food!
6. Not getting old
If you smoke, you punish many organs that are inside the body, but also another that we see every day in front of the mirror: the skin.
Our skin is a tissue that is very damaged if we smoke tobacco. Tobacco smoke contains very harmful substances that make our body have to fight to get rid of them. Our body needs more vitamin C for example, and our skin loses elasticity because tobacco smoke affects its collagen.
If you want to have healthy and youthful skin, quitting smoking would have to be non-negotiable.
7. Bad smell
Smoking tobacco makes your mouth smell bad, so not everyone would kiss with the same desire as if you did not smoke.
What's more, clothes and hair are impregnated with the characteristic smell of tobacco, which is not exactly a great perfume for those who are not smokers. There are even many smokers who are offended by the smell of cigarettes.
8. Advances menopause
It has been studied that tobacco advances the arrival of menopause, which should not surprise us, because as we have said previously, tobacco ages us.
If you want to live a jovial woman's life for more years to quit smoking should be a clear goal. The arrival of menopause should be for natural reasons And not because this substance has led us to have it before.
9. Psychological well-being
Even if it looks like a lie, tobacco affects us on a psychological level. The smoker may not notice it, but has more anxiety, stress, And till characteristic emotional symptoms of depressive disorders.
Being hooked on tobacco involves a series of behaviors typical of an addicted personWell, at the end of the day we are talking about a drug. This can undermine self-confidence and self-esteem, and precisely quitting smoking is a shot of positive feelings; who quits smoking feels pride and control over their life.
Bibliographic references
Carr, A. (1998). Quitting is easy, if you know how. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe
Jha, P. and Peto, R. (2014). Global effects of smoking, of quitting, and of taxing tobacco. The New England Journal of Medicine. 370 (1), 60–8.
Pesch, B., Kendzia, B., Gustavsson, P., Jöckel, K.-H., Johnen, G., Pohlabeln, H. and Brüning, T. (2012). Cigarette smoking and lung cancer - relative risk estimates for the major histological types from a pooled analysis of case-control studies. International Journal of Cancer. Journal International Du Cancer, 131 (5), 1210–1219.
Thun, M.J., Day-Lally, C.A., Calle, E.E., Flanders, W.D. and Heath, C.W. (nineteen ninety five). Excess mortality among cigarette smokers: changes in a 20-year interval. American Journal of Public Health. 85 (9), 1223–30.