Quit Smoking Benefits: 10 more reasons to quit smoking

There are many benefits to quitting smoking. Most of the benefits are reductions in the risk of developing some disease or other. These benefits are the reason why you should quit smoking. They wont in themselves help you quit smoking but they will provide you with motivation to go on and learn how to quit smoking successfully.

Quit smoking benefit #1: When you smoke, the cocktail of hot gases and chemicals found in cigarette smoke damages your body. There are 4,000 of them in all! As a result, if you fall ill, you take longer to recover and/or heal. Quitting smoking will significantly improve your ability to fight disease.

Quit smoking benefit #2: Smoking causes damage to your mouth and gums. Smokers are more likely to suffer from 'acute necrotising and ulcerative gingivitis' (diseased gums) which increases the risk of tooth loss and gives you bad breath amongst other things. Urgh!

Quit smoking benefit #3: Smokers are 20 times more likely to suffer from angina than non-smokers.

Quit smoking benefit #4: Want to keep your eyesight? Smokers run twice the risk of developing cataracts when compared to non-smokers. Smokers are also more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and therefore diabetic retinopathy - the degeneration of the retina, leading to blindness. They are also twice as likely to suffer from macular degeneration of the eyes and amblyopia (loss of sight).

Quit smoking benefit #5: Hey stud! Men who smoke increase the risk suffering from erectile dysfunction, reduced ejaculate volume, reduced sperm counts and deformed, damaged or dead sperm. Basically, smoking is a good way to increase your chances of being impotent! Reduce your risks by quitting smoking as soon as possible.

Quit smoking benefit #6: Hey good looking! Smokers run twice the risk of suffering from psoriasis and skin wrinkling. Free radicals found in cigarette smoke damage skin tissues and reduce their elasticity more rapidly than non-smokers. This is why long-term smokers tend to look older and have a poorer complexion than non-smokers.

Quit smoking benefit #7: Cancer anyone? Smokers run an elevated risk of developing lung cancer. They also have a disproportionately high risk of developing throat, oesophageal, bladder, kidney, stomach, pancreatic, mouth and tongue and lip cancers!

Quit smoking benefit #8: 45% of all duodenum or stomach ulcers are found in smokers. Nicotine interacts with the parasympathetic nervous system (the automatic bit) and relaxes the stomach sphincters, allowing stomach acid excess into the oesophagus (heartburn) and the duodenum.

Quit smoking benefit #9: An aortic aneurism is the ballooning of the aorta which can result in it rupturing which leads to massive internal bleeding and quick, certain death. Smokers suffer 57% of all aortic aneurisms.

Quit smoking benefit #10: Stick around! Did you know that people who smoke between 1 and 14 cigarettes per day are 8 times more likely to die early when compared to non-smokers.. Smokers on 15 to 25 cigarettes per day are 13 times more likely to die early compared to non-smokers. Smokers who smoke over 25 cigarettes per day are 25 times more likely to die early!

Finally, there is a Japanese proverb that says "fall down seven times, get up eight". Quitting smoking is just like that too. You have to keep trying to quit. My advice as ever is never quit trying to quit.