If thinking about the challenge of giving up tobacco makes you want to light up another cigarette or pinch some more dip, you are not alone. Most people have to try more than one time to quit. Many must try even more than five or ten times to quit. However, if you keep trying in earnest, you will eventually give up the habit for good.
You don’t have to go it alone, and you don’t have to do it cold turkey. There are plenty of nicotine replacement therapies and substitute products that don’t contain tobacco. And even dip lovers can find a satisfying tobacco free dip these days.
If you are not quite ready to commit to quitting, then maybe this list of ways that your life will be better without tobacco will inspire you to take the next step:
1. More Oxygen Means a Better Mood
One of the first things you’ll notice once you quit using tobacco is that you can take fuller, deeper breaths. More oxygen to your brain improves alertness and mood, making you more relaxed and ready to smile. If you smoke, your lungs are on their way to recovery within about a month. From that point forward, you’ll be breathing easier.
2. Better Breath Means More Kisses
Not that you should ever change who you are just to make yourself more attractive, but stopping your tobacco use makes you more kissable in a number of ways. First, your smile will be brighter without tobacco-stained teeth or loose chewing tobacco stuck in your gums. Second, your breath will be better. The odor of tobacco is eliminated and your mouth is healthier.
3. You’ll Have a Clearer Head
Kicking the habit may lead to better concentration because you won’t be fighting off those nasty cravings once you get past the hard part. It may take a while before you experience the last of the withdrawal symptoms (about one to three months), however, before this period is even over, you’ll probably notice that you’re not so easily distracted by the gnawing urge to take a nicotine break.
4. More Money for Whatever You Choose
In New York State, a pack of cigarettes costs $12.85. If you’re a pack-a-day smoker, you’ll spend nearly five thousand dollars a year on your habit. That’s five thousand dollars that could probably be better spent elsewhere. Use the extra money from giving up tobacco to pay down debt; or save it for a vacation, a car, or even to put toward buying a house. You could also donate the money to a local charity.
5. Longevity for the Win
Not only will your life be better if you quit your tobacco habit, but it will be longer too. Smoking shaves a significant amount of time off your life, and so does dip. Both make you more prone to cancers of the respiratory system, heart disease, and digestive illnesses as well.
6. More Ways to Save Money
Not only will you be saving money because you are not buying tobacco, but you will also be saving money because you aren’t going to the doctor as much. People who use tobacco have more health-related costs than people who don’t. And smokers miss more work, losing hours of productivity from both the act of smoking and smoking-related illnesses.
7. Energy to Do What You Love
When you smoke or chew, your routines surround that specific activity. Not only do they both take time, but smoking will zap you of your energy as well. The lung damage and the smoke contribute to less oxygen, which forces your body and brain to work without all the nutrients they need.
8. The Right ZZZs
Tobacco users suffer from sleep deprivation even when they are in bed for eight hours a night. Nicotine is a stimulant, so they may have a harder time getting to sleep and staying asleep. Withdrawal symptoms are disruptive to the sleep cycle, and smokers are especially prone to sleep apnea.
9. An Ego Boost
Your friends and family are going to rally around you if they know you are trying to quit using tobacco. Many people have never experienced the support of loved ones in quite the way they do when they are taking on a challenge that everyone can get behind. Learning how much your friends care, and receiving this kind of cheerleading from your peers and mentors will certainly lead to a big boost in self-esteem.
10. Be There For Your Grandkids
Whether you have children and grandchildren or not, you certainly want to be around to watch the young people in your life blossom into adults. You want to be able to support them and cheer them on, give them advice, and comfort them when they are down. Make sure you are around for as long as possible by giving up tobacco now, for a better future tomorrow.
