20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
Creating a quit timeline for a cessation program is an important first step to a lengthy and difficult process. The new nonsmoker needs to have a clear idea of what to expect as the quit process moves along and what to expect as he is completing recovery.
Having a plan and sticking to it are just part of the smoking cessation process. You have to set a quit day, plan your method of assistance such as Champix or nicotine replacement, keep a support system in place, be prepared for setbacks, and most importantly, you have to want to quit. If you are ambivalent regarding the quit process, then you are unlikely to be successful. Set a goal, inform yourself, and surround yourself with positive images and role models, and the last day you smoke a cigarette could be the first day you reap the benefits of a smoke-free lifestyle.
The cost of smoking includes more than the price of cigarettes. Smoking can seriously affect your financial health, as well as your physical well being and the health of those around you.
Smoking affects your whole body in a negative way. No cell is unaffected by the toxins that you put in your body when you smoke.
The benefits from quitting smoking start about 20 minutes after smoking the last cigarette, and continue for years. From purely cosmetic improvements to significant decreases in risks of serious health problems, quitting smoking now greatly improves an individual’s overall health.
Most smokers didn’t start smoking because they wanted to become addicted to nicotine and smell like an ashtray. A lot of smokers want to quit, but they struggle with self-esteem and addiction. Personal pride and self-esteem takes a major boost when smokers successfully become non-smokers. It doesn’t happen the first week or even the second week, but the third or fourth time the feeling of wanting a cigarette comes around.
Smoking reduces the number of options people have today. Smokers are banished outdoors in many states (California doesn’t allow smokers indoors anywhere and many other states are following). Smokers are a modern leper for businesses, and even companies ask employees to go outside and smoke at least twenty to thirty feet away from the door. A positive reason for quitting smoking is more options for eating, working and free time.
Smoking is an irritant and encourages nasal drainage. According to American Cancer Association, cigarette smoking increases a person’s chances for sinus infections. Quitting smoking reduces nasal problems and sinus infections.
A mother puts an unborn child at risk if she smokes. Smoking promotes premature labor, causing the child to be underweight and develop lung problems. Placental abruption is another possible occurrence. The separation of the placenta from the uterus causes death to the fetus due to lack of oxygen.
Many people find it difficult to quit smoking. However, the risks of smoking make quitting worth the effort. This habit poses many risks such as critical illness, cosmetic drawbacks, and pregnancy complications. Arsenic, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen cyanide are chemicals in cigarettes responsible for these risks as they are poisonous to the human body.