If you are thinking about quitting smoking — good for you. Thinking about it is the first step, but actually quitting is a whole different story. Addiction is a behavior that is repeated all the time, in spite of all the harmful effects, and the thing that causes both mental and physical addiction in cigarettes is nicotine. Originally it is used by plants to prevent insects from eating it, and in essence it is a toxin, yet people have found that when the smoke is inhaled, it causes a kind of high, and in abstinence, it causes the similar feeling we get when we are hungry, or thirsty, and that is why it is so hard to quit.

Smoker’s breath

Not only does smoking leave a permanent buildup of tar in your lungs, but it also clings to all other organs like tongue, throat and in addition to that, cigarette smoke kills some of the good bacteria in our mouths, which have an important role in keeping the pH balance. It is also a cause for some infections that are created in the throat, since all those chemicals are not naturally present there, and this, in combination with bad dental hygiene, can cause a multitude of problems.

Loss of taste

Imagine the smell of an ashtray. It isn’t really pleasant, and now imagine having that smoke constantly in your mouth, your nose and throat. The small particles from smoke stick there, and over prolonged periods of time, they can dull small receptors for smell and taste, and it all has to do with the way our body adjusts — the stronger the smell is, the less we are going to feel it over time. So, smokers cannot feel the delicate taste of many foods as they could before starting to smoke, and this is a process that happens over a longer period of time, so a person smoking cannot actually notice the change.

Lung cancer

Not only is smoking the main reason for developing lung cancer, but it is also the main culprit for the creation of cancer that attacks the nose, larynx, mouth and trachea. It is not really that difficult to understand why all these things are connected, as they are the first things smoke hits when it enters our bodies, and for many of the chemicals that are present in the cigarettes, we already have proof that they are carcinogenic. They disrupt the normal functioning of cells and can do harm to the DNA, causing irreparable damage, making them multiply without any order, which is an extremely simplified definition of cancer.

Rotten yellow teeth

We all understand how smoking can damage our sensitive organs such as lungs, and how it can reduce our lung capacity as it clogs small and delicate airways, but it can also damage our teeth. Tooth enamel, the outer layer of teeth, is the hardest substance in our bodies, and it is extremely resilient. If you are a smoker, your dentist will notice danger immediately, and will recommend you the best toothpaste and mouthwash that you could use as a form of prevention. A high concentration of tar mixes with the saliva and all kinds of bacteria that are in our mouths, and it creates plaque, where bacteria multiply, producing acids which cause tooth decay. On the other hand, small cracks in teeth (which are a normal occurrence) have tar stuck in them, and once they are repaired by the process of remineralization, they still gain a yellow shade, which is really aesthetically unpleasant.

Wrinkled skin

Skin is usually the first thing we notice about people, next to the eyes and teeth, and this is all related, because the skin can usually show signs of many diseases. If the skin is exposed to the heat of a cigarette, the smoke, over time, loses its elasticity due to damaged collagen, and that will cause wrinkling. Not only that, but the outer layer will harden and become more rough. This is due to the external influences of smoke, but also because of the internal ones, because smoking denies cells of oxygen and causes blood vessels to constricts, and the skin isn’t getting all the nutrients that it needs. In the end, there are more than enough reasons why you should quit smoking, and the first thing you should think about is your health.