If you are a smoker, you surely have heard about the dangers associated with this habit. Perhaps you have been smoking for years, or maybe a shorter length of time. In either case, there is a great benefit to you if you can stop smoking. You need to be committed to quitting if you want to succeed, and there are some questions you need to ask yourself to determine if you are ready.
When you are a smoker, everything about you and your home smells like cigarettes. Perhaps that does not bother you because you do not notice it much, but your friends and family have likely complained about the odor occasionally. You would probably like to eliminate the bad smell, but the only way to do it is to stop smoking.
You have no doubt noticed that your respiration is compromised by your habit of smoking. This prevents you from being as active as you should because breathing is more difficult for you than for non-smokers. This should be a good indication to you that smoking is harming you, and you are likely to develop more serious respiratory problems as you get older. If you develop asthma, COPD or emphysema, your quality of life will deteriorate, and you could also develop lung cancer which will kill you.
There are many reasons to stop smoking, ranging all the way from the expense to the risk to your health. However, you probably will not be successful at quitting unless you are the one who really wants to. No matter how much your friends and family urge you to stop, or how much you would like to please them, you will not be able to quit smoking until you have reached a commitment within yourself to do it. If you do not have that strong desire to quit for yourself, you will likely smoke on the sly and attempt to convince others that you are really trying. Most people who were smokers and finally were able to quit confess that the desire never really goes away, even years after their last cigarette. The best approach is to refuse to consider having another cigarette and think about the advantages of being smoke free.
If you make the decision to continue smoking, you will need to consider the inevitable consequences. You may be able to convince yourself that you will be one of the lucky ones who will manage to live a long life as a smoker. That scenario is very unlikely, but the decision is totally yours. If you know of people who have developed health problems as a result of smoking, think about the problems they have faced and your decision will be more obvious.
In addition to the dangers to your health, the cost of purchasing cigarettes can be enough to make quitting seem attractive. If you decide to quit, try saving the amount you have been spending on smokes and spend the money on something else you like.
Now that you have looked at all the pros and cons of smoking, you may be ready to take on the battle of quitting. Consider the points of this article and get yourself ready to stop smoking.