9.4 additional healthy years and other health benefits of quitting smoking
The scent of budding flowers, summer rain, and a hike on a nature trail are some of the peak moments of the summer, and they are best enjoyed today and with the additional healthy years to come without smoke clouds.
According to long term studies, the single lifestyle change that gives you the most healthy years in average is quitting if you smoke. This means 9.4 healthy years if you are a 40-year-old male and 7.3 healthy years for female heavy smokers, meaning 10 or more cigarettes a day.
But I need it
We get it. We have been there too, and our close ones have been and some still are smokers. You like the feeling of nicotine rush. Maybe you need it to cope with stress, or you feel cooler in social situations, or you say that you don’t want to live too long.
Truth be told, if you smoke, sicknesses such as cancer, pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, and stroke may come almost ten years faster, and the daily struggle of surviving with the diseases lasts longer, for close ones too. Which brings us to passive smoking. Passive smoking on average steals 1.5 healthy years from you, so keep away from smoke and, if you smoke, at least protect others from it.
Devil in disguise
To help with quitting, we need more time with you, but there’s one thing we can say to support the smokers and their close ones. It is one of the meanest reality-bending addictions, and most of the efforts are futile until all the little chains that keep the smoker as the slave of the tobacco industry are broken.
This happens with the help of close ones, with coaches, even apps, and most importantly with the smoker’s own highly emotional reason. Why emotional? Because that’s what can break the spell of addiction, which on a deeper level is also emotional.
Milestones
So, to inspire the ones who are thinking of quitting and to make those stronger who already quit, we have gathered the health effects that will happen all the way from the last smoke to being without smoking over 15 years.
As you can see, the health benefits keep on accumulating! And this is not all, for example there’s also an increase of energy and stamina, younger skin, no smoke stink, and more balanced mental health. When looked from another perspective, even a single puff will put you back to the beginning because it is never a single puff. So, are you ready for adding some healthy years? We are.
Next step.
Take action.
If you need extra support, download an app. We recommend Smoke Free if you are more a numbers person, or QuitGenius if you suspect that there might be a lot of chains to be broken (Disclaimer: We are not affiliated in any way. Just some of our close ones quit with the help of their approaches).
Get a piece of paper and a pen. Calculate your monthly costs for cigarettes and any other smoking equipment. Make your calculations understandable for others. (If you use Smoke Free, they make you do it in the beginning)
Think about something cool that you could buy from that sum, for yourself or somebody else. Close your eyes and take a moment to imagine you would already possess or have done that something. Then, add the following equation to your sheet:
[sum] = [something].
Share.
The act of giving back.
Now share it with us in the Facebook group. Don’t worry if it seems silent, but be the initiator! If you have quit smoking, congratulations! Share what made you finally do it. It will help others on their path! Join our group now.
How long will you live in good health? Make the test now on Yolife.io
Also, check out Tassilo Weber’s book Life Extension Design.
