How Can Refraining From Smoking Benefit An Individual’s Health

Tobacco is one of the leading causes of death in the world. The good news is that it is not difficult to quit smoking. Also, once you have broken the habit, like most people, you will get impressive health improvement in not more than three months. That said, how can refraining from smoking benefit an individual's health? Let us take a look at a few of the many possible health benefits you will get.

The Physiological Benefits

After stopping smoking, there is an array of exciting changes that will take place in your body. While some of them are easily noticeable, some are not. Some changes will also take place immediately, and some will take some time; a few years. Once you quit smoking, as time goes by, you will get fitter, feel healthier, and reduce the chances of developing heart complications.

The Lungs

Each person's lungs stop working properly as they get older; however, the problem knocks sooner among smokers and might be life-threateningly severe. It has been indicated that the lung tissues might get permanently damaged among smokers.

Therefore, if you manage to quit smoking, you will give your body the chance to enhance the airway functioning, as well as stop any further damage and lung complications. There is a plethora of benefits to the longs associated with quitting smoking.

After one month of going without smoking, you will notice a significant improvement in airway function. In the second month, your cilia will function as if you have ever smoked before. Cilia are the tiny cells aligned along the walls of your lungs.

They perform the duty of ensuring that your lungs do not have any debris and mucus. After the cilia get optimized, there will be a reduced rate of respiratory infections, chronic coughing, and pneumonia.

how can refraining from smoking benefit an individual's health?

how can refraining from smoking benefit an individual's health

Most smokers struggle with decreased pulmonary functioning, but the problem can be fixed by breaking the bad habit of smoking. Besides that, you will forget about the regular hospitalization as a result of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Lung cancer is one of the main health complications among tobacco smokers, and you will reduce the chances of becoming a victim if you quit smoking by or before the age of 30. When you hit 50 years of age, the risk of suffering lung cancer shall have been halved, unlike those who keep smoking for 25 years more. Due to the positive effects on the lungs, you will have an improved exercise capacity, which means you will get fitter.

The Blood

After going 24 hours without smoking, there will be a dramatic reduction in the amount of carbon monoxide in the blood system, which means your hemoglobin will be freed. Your body gets to receive adequate oxygen if there is enough hemoglobin in the blood. There is an array of health benefits you will gain if there is improved oxygen transportation, as well as improved quality oxygen in the body.

Once you have gone six weeks without smoking, there will be reduced cases of wound infection, and there will be an improvement in blood viscosity, which contributes positively to the blood flow to the feet and hands. When this happens, you won’t have to worry about peripheral vascular infections, and there will be no need for amputations.

The Heart

There is a good chance that those who have been smoking for many years have thick arteries, also known as atherosclerosis. This problem is associated with many adverse health impacts in certain body systems, one of them being the heart.

If you quit smoking, you will limit the chances of developing atherosclerosis, so you are less likely to develop heart complications. After going 12 months without smoking, the chances of suffering from heart complication is half compared to if you would be smoking.

Interestingly, after going for fifteen years without smoking, your chances of developing heart disease are as low as those of someone who has never smoked.

The Brain

Atherosclerosis is known as a condition that increases the chances of stroke, which explains why many smokers are highly likely to suffer from stroke compared to non-smokers. Therefore, if you can refrain from smoking for between 2 to 5 years, you will reduce the risk of experiencing stroke. Also, after 25 years of smoking, your probability will be equal to that of a non-smoker.

Cancer

If you stay five years without smoking tobacco, there will be a reduced risk of developing mouth, throat, and esophageal cancers. This is a great point to note since many smokers develop this infection, and it affects their lifestyles quite significantly.

Generally, compared to non-smokers, smokers will always have a higher risk of suffering from mouth and throat cancer, even after going 15 years without smoking. This should not discourage you from quitting the bad habit of smoking since with each cigarette you smoke, you get exposed to more carcinogens.

This implies that the more you keep smoking, the higher your chances of suffering from throat and mouth cancer. Thus, it is important that you stop sooner to avoid health complications that might take time and money to deal with.

The Bottom Line

As we wrap up, many always believe that smoking is a habit that is hard to break, but that is not the case. Once you have learned that you are addicted, make sure to come up with a game plan that will help you quit smoking successfully.

If you find it hard to refrain from smoking, consider talking to an expert. They will help you devise an actionable plan so that you achieve the bottom line with ease. Note that regardless of the duration you have been smoking, you can always quit and enjoy the benefits we have highlighted above. Therefore, go ahead and take charge of your life now.

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