Stopping smoking is the single best thing you can do to improve your health and lifestyle. Once you stop smoking, some of the benefits are immediate and some are longer-term.

Benefits to your health

The good news is that once you stop smoking, your health improves and your body will begin to recover. Quitting is the best thing you’ll ever do.

• Your sense of taste will return and you will enjoy the taste of food more.
• Your breathing and general fitness will improve.
• The appearance of your skin and teeth will improve. Once you stop smoking, you will prevent further deterioration to your skin caused by smoking.
• You will reduce your risk of developing serious illnesses such as cancer, heart attack, coronary heart disease or lung disease – COPD – including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive airways disease.
• You will reduce your risk of developing circulatory problems such as peripheral vascular disease, which can result in gangrene and amputation.
• Within two years of stopping smoking, your risk of stroke is reduced to half that of a smoker and within five years it will be the same as a non-smoker.
• Your fertility levels will improve, along with your chances of having a healthy pregnancy and baby.
• You will protect the health of those around you by not exposing them to secondhand smoke.
• You will reduce the chances of your children suffering from bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma attacks, meningitis and ear infections.

 

Benefits to your lifestyle

You will save money – the average smoker has 13 cigarettes a day, which works out to around 364 cigarettes a month. That’s approximately £2,500 a year that you could be saving by not smoking! Click here to see out how much you could save.

You’ll be more confident in social situations because you won’t smell of stale smoke any more. As a non-smoker, you may even find you get approached more often by potential new friends and partners when out socialising.

Your home and car will smell fresh and is likely to maintain its value for a longer time.

You will reduce the risk of fire in your home and may pay lower insurance premiums.