Benefits of Quitting What's stopping you?

Quitting can be hard, but it is not impossible, and there are lots of benefits once you do.

After 8 hours:	Carbon monoxide levels in your blood drop to normal and oxygen levels in your blood increase to normal.
After 24 hours:	Your chance of having a heart attack decreases.
After 48 hours:	Your ability to smell and taste is better.
After 2 weeks-3 months:	Your lung function increases up to 30% and your overall energy increases.
After 1 year:	Your excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker.
After 5 years:	Your risk of dying from lung cancer decreases by half.
After 10 years:	Your risk of dying from lung cancer becomes close to that of nonsmokers.
After 15 years:	Your risk of heart disease is that of a nonsmoker (7).

The benefits of living smoke-free are immediate and by far outweigh the obstacles that keep you smoking. Each cigarette contains over 40 harmful cancer-causing chemicals that now will not be inhaled into your body.

What's stopping you?

There are some common barriers to trying to quit smoking. Here are responses from our quit-smoking specialists to some of the frustrations that they often hear from people who smoke. We hope this will help give you the courage to keep trying.

"I don't have time to quit."
Think about how long it takes for you to smoke a pack of cigarettes each day. Dealing with the health consequences of smoking will take up a significant portion of your life.

"I'm afraid I'll fail."
It takes the average smoker 5-6 times to successfully quit. Think of it as practice…it is all part of the process to successfully quit. We all know that it takes a long time to unlearn bad habits.

"Cigarettes are my last vice."
Do you need any vices? Aim to be vice-free. Try exchanging a bad habit for a good one.

"I'm afraid that I'll gain 50 pounds."
The average weight gain that occurs with giving up cigarettes is 5-7 pounds.

According to the American Cancer Society, smoking one pack of cigarettes a day is equivalent to being 75-100 pounds overweight in terms of medical side-effects. These health problems include heart disease and stroke.

Also, once you quit smoking, you can lose the few pounds that you gained.