Smoking’s
bad for your health, but exactly how does quitting make life better?
Benefits will you get without smoking.
Better sex
Stopping smoking improves the body’s bloodflow, so improves sensitivity. Men
who stop smoking may get better erections. Women may find that their orgasms
improve and they become aroused more easily. It’s also been found that
non-smokers are three times more appealing to the opposite sex than smokers
(one of the advantages, perhaps, of smelling fresh).
Find
out more tips for having good sex.
Improved
fertility
Non-smokers
find it easier to get pregnant. Quitting smoking improves the lining of the womb
and can make men’s sperm more potent. Becoming a non-smoker increases the
possibility of conceiving through IVF and reduces the likelihood of having a
miscarriage. Most importantly, it improves the chances of giving birth to a
healthy baby.
Younger
looking skin
Stopping smoking has been found to slow facial ageing and delay the appearance
of wrinkles. The skin of a non-smoker gets more nutrients, including oxygen,
and can reverse the sallow, lined complexion that smokers often have.
Whiter
teeth
Giving up tobacco stops teeth becoming stained, and you'll have fresher
breath. Ex-smokers are less likely than smokers to get gum disease and
lose their teeth prematurely.
Find
out more about dental health.
Better
breathing
People breathe more easily and cough less when they give up smoking
because their lung capacity improves by up to 10% within nine months. In
your 20s and 30s, the effect of smoking on your lung capacity may not be
noticeable until you go for a run, but lung capacity naturally diminishes with
age. In later years, having maximum lung capacity can mean the difference
between having an active, healthy old age and wheezing when going for a walk or
climbing the stairs.
Longer
life
Half of
all long-term smokers die early from smoking-related diseases, including heart
disease, lung cancer and chronic bronchitis. Men who quit smoking by 30 add 10
years to their life. People who kick the habit at 60 add three years to
their life. In other words, it’s never too late to benefit from stopping.
Quitting not only adds years to your life, but it also greatly
improves the chance of a disease-free, mobile, happier old age.
Less
stress
Scientific studies show that people's stress levels are lower after they stop
smoking. Nicotine addiction makes smokers stressed from the ‘withdrawal’
between cigarettes. The pleasant feeling of satisfying that craving is only
temporary and is not a real cure for stress. Also, the improved levels of
oxygen in the body means that ex-smokers can concentrate better and have
increased mental wellbeing.
Improved
senses
Kicking
the smoking habit gives your senses of smell and taste a boost. The body
is recovering from being dulled by the hundreds of toxic chemicals found
in cigarettes.
More
energy
Within 2 to 12 weeks of stopping smoking, the circulation improves. This makes
all physical activity, including walking and running, much easier. Quitting
boosts the immune system, making it easier to fight off colds and flu. The
increase in oxygen in the body makes ex-smokers less tired and less likely to
have headaches.
Healthier
loved ones
By
stopping smoking you'll be protecting the health of your non-smoking friends
and family.
Passive
smoking increases a non-smoker's risk of lung cancer, heart disease and stroke. Second-hand smoke makes children twice at
risk of chest illnesses, including pneumonia, croup (swollen airways in the lungs) and bronchitis,
plus more ear infections, wheezing and asthma. They also have three times the risk of
getting lung cancer in later life compared with children who live with
non-smokers.
Quitting
is good for their health as well as yours.