It is recognized that the biggest cause of premature death in America for both men and woman is smoking. Over 440,000 adults are dying prematurely every 12 months as a direct result of smoking cigarettes.
It is well publicized in the media and through health education programs that a person who smokes is putting themselves at almost a 10 times greater risk of contracting lung disease, emphysema, COPD, pneumonia, bronchitis, heart diseases etc. There is also an increased chance that a person who smokes will get cataracts, as well as peptic ulcers. These risks are even greater if the smoker is exposed to other risks factors at work including coal dust, asbestos or other microscopic particles.
Many smokers who are well aware of the risks associated with their addition will continue to smoke despite these risks because they think that smoking provides them some kind of benefit such as relief from stress and anxiety, increased pleasure or cutting appetite. Because of these perceived benefits they feel that quitting would require too great an effort and would just be too difficult to do.
Any smoker who does finally mange to break the habit and stop smoking will benefit from a longer life expectancy no matter what age they are when they decide to quit, they will also experience a greater sense of wellbeing and no longer be treated like a social pariah. It is simple truth that the younger a smoker is when he or she quits the greater the benefits will be to their health and longevity, but even taking all these factors into count it really is never too late to stop smoking. is never too late to quit!
A lot of smokers will admit that they suffer from “smokers cough”, a persistent rattley cough that never goes away, listlessness, sleep problems, wheeziness and shortness of breath. The fear of death is arguably the greatest reason people cite for wanting to stop smoking. It can often take several attempts before the habit of smoking is finally broken although of course there are the minority of lucky smokers who manage to quit at their first try. Most smokes take at least 6 tries before finally succeeding in breaking their nicotine habit for good
The actual process of stopping smoking is really a learning curve as you pick up on which methods are more helpful than others, which methods don’t help you personally at all, what events push you back into smoking and also which aids seem to suit you the best by helping you the most. This learning curve can prove to be time consuming and will require some effort and hard work combined with determination on the part of the person trying to quit smoking. However as long as you learn from the mistakes you may make and of course avoid repeating those mistakes on your next try, then each attempt to quit will inexorably bring you closer to your goal of being someone how has not only stopped smoking for good but also taken their initial steps towards regaining their health, lengthening their life expectancy and taking back control of their lives.
One final tip – avoid consuming alcohol whilst you are attempting to quit smoking, booze will inevitably lower your willpower, lower your determination and raise your chances of breaking your hard earned process and lighting up a cigarette and putting you right back where you began!