loopyloulaura

I have never been a smoker, never even tried a cigarette. My grandmother died from throat cancer when I was 15 and smoking was partly responsible. I admit that when I saw on Chris’ profile that he smoked I almost didn’t contact him (super glad I did!) but when we met he explained there wasn’t an option for e cigarettes on the questionnaire. On our trip to Legoland recently there was a mum puffing away on a cigarette with her newborn inches away and I was appalled. I honestly can’t believe that people would choose to smoke knowing of the health risks to yourself and your children.

It is never be too late to quit the use of tobacco but the sooner you are able to stop the easier you will find it and be able to cut back on your chances of developing cancer and other diseases.

Within just minutes of your last cigarette, your amazing body will start to recover!

• 20 minutes after you quit, both your blood pressure and heart rate will come down.

• 12 hours after you quit, the levels of carbon monoxide in your blood will go down to normal.

• 2 weeks to three months after you quit, your circulation will improve and lung function will increase.

• 1 to 9 months after you quit, the shortness of breath and coughing will decrease. The small hair-like structures that work to move mucous out of your lungs, the cilia, will start to get back to normal function in the lungs.This will increase their ability to handle the mucous and clean out your lungs, reducing your risk of infection.

• 1 year after you quit, the major risk of developing coronary heart disease will be half of what it is for someone that still smokes. The heart attack risk will also drop dramatically.

• 5 years after you quit, the risk of cancers of the throat, mouth, bladder and esophagus will be cut in half. The risk of cervical cancer will fall to what a non-smoker has and the risk of stroke will fall to what a non-smoker has just after 2 to 5 years of not smoking.

• 10 years after you quit, the risks of dying from lung cancer is roughly half of that for someone still smoking and your risk of cancer of the pancreas and voice box (larynx) will decrease.

• 15 years after you quit, the risk of coronary heart disease will be like that of a non-smoker.

These are just some of the benefits of finally quitting smoking for good. When you quit smoking it will lower your risk of developing diabetes, it can help your lungs and heart and lets your blood vessels work more efficiently.

The life expectancy for a smoker will be (on average) 10 years shorter than that of a non-smoker. When you are able to quit smoking before you turn 40, you will cut back the risks of dying due to some sort of smoking-related health issue by roughly 90%.

When you quit smoking while you are younger, it reduces your health risks. However, quitting at any age will be able go give back valuable years of life that would otherwise be lost due to smoking.

Some people do find it hard to quit so it is often recommended that you try NRT (nicotine replacement therapies), the most popular being e cigarettes which contains e-liquid.

There are many other benefits of quitting smoking that you are going to notice immediately. You will immediately start saving the money you would have otherwise spent on tobacco, and you will also see that food will taste better, the sense of smell will go back to normal and your teeth and fingernails will stop being yellow. In addition to that, your clothes, breath and hair will smell better and any of the ordinary activities that would leave you out of breath will be easier to take on. Your skin will be healthier and you will not be prone to tooth loss or gum disease (something I saw a lot in my dental nursing days).

It isn’t easy. Chris used e cigarettes to help stop him smoke and has now managed to wean himself off nicotine completely. A struggle but he has done it. And so can you!

*Collaborative post