Smoking is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the UK. It’s not just death you have to worry about when you smoke, however. Cigarettes can cause serious and long-term effects on your health, some of which can seriously impact your ability to enjoy your daily life. 

No matter how long you’ve been smoking, quitting will give you immediate health benefits. The longer you go without smoking, the more these benefits will add up. You may even be able to reverse some of the damage cigarettes have caused. 

Here are some of the biggest benefits of quitting smoking. 

• Your Blood Can Circulate

Every inch of your body needs proper blood circulation to function. Without blood and the nutrients it carries, you’ll start to have cascading effects throughout your entire body. 

The chemicals and toxins cigarettes almost immediately start impacting your blood and arteries. The tar in cigarettes will narrow your arteries, making it harder for your blood to circulate. This ends up increasing your heart rate and blood pressure, as well as increasing your risk for developing harmful blood clots. These clots can lead to strokes and heart attack. 

Reduces blood flow will not only put strain on your heart but will make it harder for any wounds to heal. Cuts, abrasions, and other wounds in the skin take longer to heal in smokers than in non-smokers. This opens the door for infections to take root, not to mention lasting scars. 

• Your Skin Will Improve 

People who smoke long term will end up looking much older than they are. Smoking cigarettes prematurely ages your skin by changing its appearance and causing wrinkles. The smoke from cigarettes causes your skin to develop a greyish, wasted pallor that’s full of wrinkles. Wrinkles from smoking can start to appear in smokers who are only in their 20s. 

It’s believed that premature ageing caused by smoking is due to how the chemicals in cigarettes break down collagen in the skin. Collagen is an essential protein that gives it a smooth, elastic feel and appearance. Smoking also restricts blood circulation throughout the body and the skin, depriving the skin of much needed nutrients and oxygen. 

There’s also a link between smoking and a chronic inflammatory skin condition known as psoriasis. Psoriasis is an often painful and distressing condition that causes dry, scaly patches of skin across the body. For those who already have psoriasis, cigarettes can make outbreaks occur more frequently and severely. 

• Your Chances of Cancer Will Go Down 

Smoking is responsible for the vast majority lung cancer cases each year but can also cause cancer just about everywhere in the body. Cigarettes and tobacco use have been linked to oral cancer, throat cancer, bladder cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer, and oesophageal cancer. 

While quitting won’t mean you’ll live cancer free, your chances will be much lower than they would be if you continue to smoke or use tobacco. 

• Your Heart Health Will Improve 

Because smoking damages your heart and impacts how well your blood circulates, you’re at a higher risk of coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, vascular disease, and heart attack. Smoking puts a major strain on your heart and can cause irreversible damage. The more strain your heart is under, the harder it has to work and the more quickly it will deteriorate. As soon as you stop smoking, your blood pressure will start to decrease which will reduce the strain on your heart. 

• Your Fertility Will Improve 

Female smokers are more likely to experience fertility problems or to suffer miscarriages. If they continue to smoke during pregnancy, the baby is at risk of being born prematurely, having a low-birth weight, and/or suffering from developmental problems. 

Male smokers may struggle to sustain erections long enough to have sex and ejaculate. Smoking limits the blood supply to the penis and is one of the major causes of impotence in men. It can also reduce sperm count and impact the health of remaining sperm. 

• Your Loved Ones Will Thank You

Whenever you smoke, either inside or outside, you’re exposing others to the dangerous toxins in your cigarette. Secondhand smoke is dangerous and can cause non-smokers to develop serious health conditions like cancer and lung disease. These risks are increased if you frequently smoke near children, elderly, and even pets. 

• You’ll Have More Money 

Smoking is an expensive habit that is made more expensive each year by tax hikes. Money is tight for just about everyone right now so saving pennies anywhere you can is important. All that money you’ve spent on cigarettes could go toward helping with the cost of living or to something you’ve struggled to save up for. 

It may not seem like a lot at first, but if you start putting the money you usually spent on cigarettes away in a jar or separate bank account, you’ll soon see quite a hefty amount of money adding up. 

How to Stop Smoking

Quitting smoking is one of the best decisions you can make, but it’s also one of the hardest. The nicotine in cigarettes is extremely addictive on its own, but tobacco companies put in additives to make it even more addicting. 

Every time you smoke, your brain experiences a pleasurable sensation from the nicotine. Your brain will soon begin to crave this feeling and you’ll experience withdrawal symptoms if you suddenly stop smoking. These symptoms can be so disruptive that people go back to smoking just to make them stop. 

Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms: 

• Restlessness
• Headache
• Insomnia
• Mood swings
• Trouble concentrating

If you want to quit smoking but are worried about nicotine withdrawal, start a consultation with us to buy proven nicotine replacement therapies. Nicotine replacement therapy is an effective way to stop smoking because it gives you the nicotine your body is craving. By slowly weaning yourself off of nicotine, your chances of success are much higher than if you try quitting cold turkey. 

You can also work on your nicotine addiction by using Champix tablets. It contains varenicline that helps block the effect of nicotine on your brain. So, when you are on treatment with Champix tablets, they will reduce the pleasurable effect nicotine has on you. If you would like to buy Champix tablets, you can simply start a consultation with us. Our team will ensure that the medicine is right for you.

Continue exploring our website to see how Pharmacy Planet can help you go smoke-free.