Why Should You Stop Smoking Cigarette? | Forget Cancer

Do you know when we get old and are retired from our jobs, the only thing keeping us alive is our younger-self memories?

What do you think your memories will consist of?

Going out with friends with a cigarette in one hand and booze in another? Sitting on your desk at home with a bunch of cigarette butts in a bowl?

Mark Twain once said:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do."

These tiny four-centimetre sticks may not seem much but believe me, these are the things which will make your life hell. Let's forget that they're the reasons for so many deaths from Cancer. For now, we'll only focus on how they affect your day to day life. You may be surprised by the changes it brings in you.

The worse habit one can have is smoking. Yes, this is indeed worse than drinking. People from all around the world who smoke know that smoking causes cancer; why don't they or you stop?

Our family, our friends, our coworkers and everyone around us tells us to stop smoking. They think that we don't know that it's bad for our health.

No sir No. We're very aware of the health effects of cigarettes. For those who don't know. Let me tell you what effects cigarettes have on us.

You may get afraid of what you're going to realize about cigarettes just reading ahead.

Minor Problems

I understand the addiction towards nicotine. Regular smoking makes your life kind of dependent on it. You cannot sleep, cannot focus, get angry on tiny things, restlessness, and insomnia as well. I've been through all this personally.

There's one thing you must know. If you plan on quitting cigarettes, don't do it in one go. You won't be successful; not at all. You need to give yourself time to let go of this habit and let your brain start working without depending on nicotine.

Major Problems

Lack of Energy: Yes, cigarettes take a heavy toll on your overall energy. This will not only make you lazy but sleepy as well. You'll feel the need to re-energize and 'Sleep' will be an only viable solution if you observe.

Constant Need of Nicotine: Even if you have just smoked a cigarette, if you don't have any work or are free at the moment; you'll again crave a cigarette. This is your brain telling you that

'give me a smoke and we'll do something fun'

Don't listen to it. Get busy. Do something, literally anything. This craving is just temporary, maybe for 10-15 mins.

Bad Relationships: Believe it or not, cigarettes will be so important to you that you'll even choose this over your girlfriend or wife and you will definitely lose some close friends.

Lost of Sense of Smell and Taste: Once a person starts Smoking, gradually they'll lose the sense of smell and taste. This process is so slow that you won't be able to detect it. And someday you'll realize that this dish used to be better or this drink was so much better the last time I drank it.

You'll have no idea that your taste buds are giving up because you'll be filling them with smoke and nicotine.

But the good thing is that this is not permanent. If you stop smoking, in just a few days you'll start to realize food tastes so much better or the smell of flowers is delightful.

Premature Aging: How does it sound like when somebody tells you that you look 35 when your actual age is just 26? You may not care but its a big deal. It is not the people telling you. It's your brain telling you that something is wrong. We're growing faster than required, and the growth is only physical not mental. So by the time, you'll be 50; Your health will be as of a 75-year-old.

Plus the wrinkles, the pale and dry skin, hair loss, white hair, ugh.. Do you really want these things?

Impotence: Oh dear lord! As if finding a life partner wasn't struggle already, now we've another thing to worry about. This sure isn't something any man or women wants to find out. That their Sperm count is low or their womb isn't hospitable for a baby.

Impact on Physical Activities: As already discussed, Smoking makes you one heck of a lazy person. Earlier without smoking if you were able to run for 6 miles a day. Now try it. You won't last 2 miles and even if you did, you'll be sweating like you've run 1000 miles. This is not the kind of sweat you want while exercising.

Cost: Smoking takes a heavy toll on a pocket. In the US, an average packet of cigarette costs around $6.28 and if you smoke around 5 packets per weak i.e. 20 packets a month and 240 packets a year. So you're spending $1500+ a year on smoking. In India, a packet costs at least Rs. 150. That'll be around Rs. 36,000 a year based on some calculations.

The average monthly salary is less than that. So basically you're spending more than a months salary on damaging your health.

Tips on How to Stop Smoking

Stopping this habit is hard but there are few things you can do to make it easier. Here is something you should try:

• Don't stop immediately. Your brain can't handle it. You need to give it time to adjust to lower nicotine. Try lowering cigarette count one by one after every two to three days.

• Don't smoke when you crave. Whenever your brain wants nicotine, it'll give you a craving and if you smoke, your brain thinks its winning and next time it'll ask a little faster. This is how you start smoking more and more cigarettes daily. When you have a craving, don't smoke immediately. Let your brain know that he is not the in-charge. Once the craving stops, you can smoke after 5 mins.

• Let your loved ones know you're quitting. When you tell them, they'll be happy and if you cannot do that it'll be like breaking a promise so you're more likely to keep this promise and proceed to the process of stopping. After all, no one wants to disappoint their loved ones.