Set Yourself Free
Maybe you are tired of being herded outside whenever you want to smoke. Maybe a good friend has come down with a smoking-related illness like lung cancer. Maybe you are just sick and tired of paying higher and higher prices for a product you know you are being manipulated to buy. Or maybe your health care provider has urged you to stop smoking. Whatever the reason, if you quit you would live longer and stay healthier. When you quit smoking, you would start showing signs of physical recovery almost immediately.
Top Ten Reasons to Quit Smoking:
1. You would feel better.
Right away you would breathe easier and cough less.
Circulation to your feet and hands would improve.
More blood would reach your brain, keeping you mentally strong and reducing the risk of stroke.
2. Your energy would improve.
More oxygen (and less carbon monoxide) would reach your heart, lungs and muscles. You would feel stronger and have more energy.
You would be able to walk farther without running out of breath.
You may even sleep better.
3. You would reduce the risk of illness.
Your body would be better able to fight off colds and flu.
Within the first year, your risk of smoking-related heart disease would be cut in half.
After 10 years, your risk for heart or lung disease and smoking related cancer would decrease to that of a non-smoker.
Many medications would work better.
4. You would live longer.
Seventy percent of seniors who quit smoking live longer than their peers.
With better health you would enjoy life more.
5. Food would taste better.
Your sense of smell and taste would return.
Your appetite would improve and you would get more enjoyment out of eating.
6. You would save money.
Figure out how much money you spend each week on cigarettes. Multiply that amount by 52 weeks to find out how much you would save every year.
Many smokers discover they can save as much as $5,000 in five years.
Make a list of what you would like to do with the money you save. Buy yourself or someone you love a special gift, take a vacation or pay off some bills.
You may save money on health care costs.
7. You would feel better.
Your breath and clothes would no longer smell like smoke.
Your teeth would be whiter.
You would lose the yellow nicotine stains on your fingers.
8. Your self-esteem would improve.
Quitting smoking would help you feel more in control of your life.
Depression caused by nicotine addiction would lessen.
Your self-esteem would improve just by knowing you are doing something to help yourself.
9. You would protect those you love.
Quitting would help family and friends stay healthy by reducing the risk of cancer, lung problems, colds, flus, allergies, ear infections and other illnesses caused by second-hand smoke.
10. It is never too late.
If you have tried to quit before, you are a step ahead. It often takes two, three or more tries to quit smoking for good.
Think of past efforts as practice. They have given you the experience you need to succeed now.
Facts about
tobacco use among college
students:
28.5 percent of college students are current smokers.
28 percent of college smokers began to smoke regularly at or after age 19, at which most were already in college.
Half of the current college smokers have tried unsuccessfully to quit in the previous year.
Tobacco companies have recently shifted their marketing strategies to target college students.
Students who live in residence halls that ban alcohol and smoking are less likely to binge drink, drive with a drunk friend, or fall behind in schoolwork. (Harvard School of Public Health)
Calling all Quitters! The Maine Tobacco Helpline can be reached at 1-800-207-1230, or come see us at University Health Services