This post is timely for me, because I’ve been 100% cigarette free for about a year! That’s truly a miracle. I am grateful every day I wake up and don’t feel the need or desire to smoke a cigarette.
I’m writing this post because when I was a smoker, I didn’t want to hear about how it might give me cancer someday or that it was “so bad for me.” These things I already knew, of course. Someone yelling to me “hey you know cigarettes cause cancer, right?” wouldn’t make me quit. Call me crazy, but that didn’t persuade me to quit, because cancer wasn’t something I had to deal with that day. Addictions are powerful, and each person has to be ready to quit for his or her own reasons. Quitting is a personal choice, and it’s one that I’m happy to have made.
What did make me want to quit were the promises of what it would do for my body immediately. I needed some instant gratification. I was out to dinner with some friends one night, and someone said to me, “I know a girl in her 30s who looks like she’s 50 because she smokes so much. How old are you? 26? If you quit now, you have a chance of saving your looks.” For some reason, that statement hit me like a ton of bricks. Vain? Maybe, but that’s what it took to make me think about quitting. Not only was smoking affecting my insides, but it was affecting my outsides as well – something that many young people don’t worry about if they haven’t felt any side effects of aging yet.
That being said, I eventually quit. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it (chewing on mint toothpicks helped a lot). I want to share a few benefits that I felt after quitting – just in case you’re like me, and you need some immediate gratification:
- My skin got clearer. When I smoked, I went to get a facial, and the woman said “you smoke, huh?” She could see it in my clogged up pores. Needless to say, she had to do a lot of work that day to clean out my skin and dig out the dirt. Sick!!!
- The fine lines on my face got fainter. Before I quit smoking I noticed some fine lines appearing around my eyes. Since I’ve quit, it’s like they’ve disappeared. Before, I was starving my skin of oxygen, causing it to dry out.
- My eyes got brighter. No joke, the whites in my eyes are clearer now.
- My tastebuds improved significantly. Smoking desensitizes your tastebuds – I started tasting vibrant, outrageous flavors in foods that were once bland to me.
- My sense of smell improved almost immediately. I swear, a couple weeks after I quit, I could literally smell someone’s split pea soup from across the office. I thought I was dreaming.
- I smelled better. I could hug my boyfriend without worrying about smelling like I just took a smoke bath.
- My lungs got stronger. I didn’t get short of breath as easily, and I could run longer distances comfortably.
Those are just a few. Read some beautiful testimonials here from others who have quit and are noticing benefits. Smoking is an addiction, and quitting is not an easy journey. The good news is, you don’t have to go through it alone. If you need a support system, consider joining BecomeAnEx.org.
Here’s a timeline I found, outlining what happens to your body after you quit: Quit Smoking Timeline
You’ll quit when you’re ready. Hopefully soon. :)
What Happens When You Quit Smoking? — Recipe for Life | Quit Smoking Now says
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OH! You’re my new favorite blogger fyi
ken@breakup quotes says
To stop smoking is such a though decision to do. We need some advice and support from others to accomplish it. I stopped smoking once with the help of an on-line place like this. This really works! Keep up!
dorian@quitting smoking timeline says
Have you ever thought about the money you save is you quit from smoking? Mainly if you smoke a lot along the day, maybe the money you save by not buying those cigarrette packages would give you enough to buy very useful thngs that you’d like to have by now. Just make a simple calculation multiplying the quantity you spend daily by 365 to know how much you’ll save in a year, end then multiply that result by two, three, etc. and you’ll know that in some years you could pay for a new electronic equipment, a new decoration for your house, some deserved vacations, etc. Just by doing this you should get very motivated to start to quit from smoking ASAP!
Chris says
Hey everyone!!
It is one of the most difficult things to do and yet so Doable…….I have struggled with it for years because I guess I just wasn’t mentally really “wanting to” I finally just wanted to be a non-smoker!!
I feel so much better, I require less sleep. For the males out there, lets be honest…it affects our sex drive if you know what I mean….there has to be good circulation to please…so THAT was another important reason for me…..=) I love singing and it was destroying that…just everything in general…not having them or seeing that I had 2 or 3 left in the pack caused a crisis if I was broke. I don’t miss that!
Good luck to everyone out there and yes, you CAN do it!!!
Cheers!!!!
Ryan says
Hello in response to you chris, its been a few more months now for you and i was wondering did your singing voice get any better after you quit? better controll and sound ect! also has your blood flow down there become very noticeable? thanks in advance
Sofia says
very similar to Dorian, I had a very bad addiction to smoking cigarettes for nearly 15 years. I tried to quit several times and I couldn’t last more than 24 hrs without smoking. I been smoke-free since May 2013..might not be long ago but I hate even the sight of it. How I stopped was a tough choice at the time.. I had enough for a pack that would last me a few days or shop for food. I chose to eat. I felt so guilty for smoking all these years and wished I had stopped long ago, so the guilt was tough and help me until all the nicotine was out of my body, and the mental and physical part that help me was saving money and getting healthy again, reading books on yoga and juicing. Bought a good blender that I couldn’t buy before and joined a gym( if I smoked I wouldnt be able to do any of these things) . My whole life has changed and is a positive outlook instead of smoking the first thing in the morning I jog. A great friend encouraged me too, he would always say to me if you don’t have your health, you cant do anything, he is so right!! The first month is hard but the guilt help me keep focus.. hope I got through to you and helped you quit, you will be sooooooooo happy you did I know I am ;D beat the drugs don’t let it beat you..don’t be a slave. Be strong and know that you matter in this world
jack@geo-smart.net says
I quit smoking by writing in a cigarrette the sign: “Who is stronger, me or you?” And then I stuck it on my computer screen. Hope this helps to anyone who wants to stop smocking.