Quitting Smoking Health Benefits
Cigarette smoking is a risk factor that allows the development of diseases, mainly the lung cancer.
Other health problems such as chronic lung disease and heart disease, can also be caused by the habit of smoking.
Quitting smoking produces immediate benefits. The level of carbon monoxide in blood drops and blood circulation improves.
The carbon monoxide reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen. The pulse rate and the blood pressure that are higher when smoking, return to normal levels.
Breathing becomes easier and the senses of taste and smell are normalized. Quitting smoking has immediate benefits and long term benefits too.
After 10 or 15 years the risk of premature death decreases. The risk of lung cancer is 30 to 50 percent lower.
In women quitting smoking reduces the risks related with pregnancy.
People who are sick and quit smoking obtain great benefit because it reduces the risk of developing infections, such as pneumonia, which can cause death in people with pre-existing diseases.
Once the smoking habit is abandoned, as time passes the risk of developing lung cancer and other types of cancer diminishes.
The partial or total recovery depends on the years that the person has smoked, the age at which the person started smoking, the number of cigarette smoked per day and the diseases that the person has at the time to quit smoking.
Quitting smoking may occasionally lead to other difficulties. It is common to feel anxiety, irritability, hunger, difficulty to concentrate or to sleep. It is common also to gain weight.
All these changes are temporary, quit smoking opens the door to have a healthier future.
The Nicotine Dependence
Quit smoking is not an easy task because a body addicted to the nicotine will fight so that you lose the battle.
The symptoms of abstinence last between one to two weeks. During the first week the body still depends on nicotine and the symptoms of abstinence are stronger.
The first week is the most critical moment in which occur the majority of relapses. During this stage, your willpower will be tested.
Do not hesitate to seek help from your family, friends or to use any personal resource to help you stay away from cigarettes.
The next goal that you must overcome is that of the three months. Unexpected or stressful situations will continue to be part of your life, having been a smoker you still relate tobacco with relax and it will be an automatic tendency to look for a cigarette.
These situations cause most of the relapses in the first three months after quitting smoking. You should be able to concentrate on your goal in the moments of stress.
Persistent Cough After Quitting Smoking
It is normal the presence of cough after quitting smoking, this cough usually disappears after three or four weeks.
It is a natural reaction of the respiratory system, under the effect of the tobacco the cilia inside the bronchi can not fulfill their excretory function.
When you stop smoking the cilia get back to work and do their task of evacuation causing the cough.
However it can happen that the persistent cough is not related to the fact of quit smoking, so consult your doctor to exclude the possibility of an asthma episode.
If You Tried And Failed
It can happen that your first attempt to quit smoking is unsuccessful, but you should not be discouraged.
Most of ex-smokers achieve their goal after several attempts.
Try again when you feel ready.
Keep in mind that quitting smoking is the most healthy and difficult decision that you can make.
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