If you’ve ever tried to quit smoking, you know your chief adversary is time. Every smoker can go a certain amount of time without a cigarette, even if it’s just fifteen minutes. It’s stacking those smoke-free moments, one after another, that can feel tough.
When you quit, it’s time to completely change the way you think about smoke-free moments. Don’t think of them as moments without a cigarette, but rather as time you’re giving to make your life more awesome.
Just look at everything you have to look forward to as an ex-smoker:
Better Skin
Smoking accelerates the aging of your skin, slows wound healing, and can worsen some skin conditions, such as psoriasis. When you quit smoking, your skin’s collagen production returns to normal levels, helping to fill in wrinkles, and your circulation improves, getting more oxygen and nutrients to your skin cells for a smoother, more even complexion.
More Money
You may not have noticed how much you’re spending on cigarettes. Would it surprise you to know that the average smoker spends $188 per month, $2,292 per year, and $22,920 over ten years on cigarettes? This is the cost of the cigarettes alone, and doesn’t include any money you may lose due to health problems or missed work.
Without that extra expense, you can take better care of yourself. Join your local wellness center. Eat a healthy and delicious meal at a nice restaurant. Take a vacation now and then. Invest in your future.
More Enjoyable Food
After you quit smoking, your senses of taste and smell improve, allowing you to enjoy flavors and aromas that you may have forgotten. Smoking can flatten your taste buds and constrict blood vessels in your nasal passages. After you quit, these effects are quickly reversed. You’ll have a better appetite, too. Just make sure to find lots of healthy and delicious options to exercise your newly returned tasting abilities.
More Energy
Just a few weeks after quitting smoking, you’ll experience better circulation and less coughing, and after just a few months, your lung function will have greatly improved. All of this will mean much less shortness of breath, as well as improved energy. You’ll feel more able to tackle anything that comes your way, including fun!
A Healthier Family
When you quit smoking, your family benefits, too. For anyone who may have been exposed to your secondhand smoke, you’ll decrease their risks of lung cancer and heart disease. And if you have kids, quitting smoking helps reduce the risk that they’ll start.
Better Intimacy
Because of smoking’s effects on circulation, energy levels, and overall health, it’s not surprising that quitting smoking can greatly improve your love life. And because you’ll probably look healthier and smell less smoky, it’ll be all the easier to get close to the person you love.
Better Long-Term Health
Beyond these immediate benefits, you know there are many long-term health benefits when you quit smoking. Quitting greatly reduces your risks of cancer, and heart and lung disease. Those who quit smoking before the ages of 45–54 reduce their chances of dying prematurely by two-thirds. And everyone who quits, at whatever age, can expect an increase in life expectancy of several years.
Quitting can be challenging, but you don’t have to do it alone. Check out our four-session Commit to Quit course to get all the help you need, and make awesome things happen in your life.
