Quit smoking, Get healthy

chinacdc.cn | Updated: 2022-03-01
Smoking addiction is actually a chronic disease. Failure to quit smoking is not because of a lack of willpower. Quitting smoking is one of the most important steps you can take to improve your health. This is true no matter how old you are or how long you have smoked.
 
You can go to a smoking cessation clinic to receive intervention treatment, or call a smoking cessation hotline for consultation.
 
Health benefits of quitting smoking

Over time, people who quit smoking see many benefits to their health. As soon as you quit smoking, your body begins a series of positive changes that continue for years.
 
 Time after quitting  Health benefits
 20 minutes  Heart rate drops, blood pressure decreases slightly
 12 hours  Carbon monoxide level in the blood drops to normal level
 24 hours  Respiratory function improves
 2 days  Reactions caused by nicotine disappear
 3 months  Lung function improves
 1 year  Risk of coronary heart disease drops by half
 5 years  Risk of stroke drops to the level of non-smokers'
 10 years  Risk of lung cancer drops by half
 10 years  Risk of coronary heart disease drops to a level close to non-smokers’

Prepare for quitting smoking

Clarify the reasons for quitting smoking and strengthen the will power;
Throw away all tobacco products and smoking accessories;
Tell your family, friends and colleagues that you are about to quit smoking;
Start delaying the first cigarette by five to ten minutes;
Set a smoking cessation day;
Do not allow others to smoke in front of you;
Find the right way to quit smoking, and consider whether you need smoking cessation drugs and the help of doctors.
 
Why You Should Quit Smoking and How You Do It

1.Smoking causes stroke

Smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death. It damages the heart and blood vessels, causes coronary atherosclerosis, leads to vascular stenosis and increases the risk of coronary heart disease. Not only that, smoking will also greatly reduce the therapeutic effect of medicine given for coronary heart disease.
 
2.Smoking causes impotence

Smoking can lead to impotence in men. It is because tobacco contains hundreds of harmful substances, which can harden the penile artery, narrow the vascular lumen, significantly reduce blood flow, and cause difficulty in achieving erections. 
 
In addition, harmful substances in tobacco can kill sperm, resulting in the decline of sperm quantity and vitality.
 
3.Tobacco cannot help clear your thinking

Some say that smoking can help clear your thinking, but it is not the truth. 
 
Because smokers rely on nicotine and smoking movements, it is difficult to concentrate when they are not smoking, resulting in irritability, anxiety and other emotions, which can be alleviated by smoking. 
 
This phenomenon is in fact the negative result of smoking, but it is regarded by some people as the benefit of smoking. Moreover, smoking can reduce cerebral blood flow and lead to hypoxia in brain tissue, which will affect the thinking ability of smokers.
 
4.Don't be misled by survivors

One in two smokers dies from smoking-related diseases, and the average life span of smokers is 10 years shorter than that of non-smokers. The smokers who are not caught by diseases are just survivors, while those who die early because of smoking have become silent data. 
 
The diseases caused by smoking will appear slowly after several years or even decades, making it easy to underestimate the harm of tobacco.
 
Moreover, most of these diseases are difficult to cure, which will not only reduce the quality of life in the future, but also lead to smokers' early deaths.
 
5.Don’t worry about uncomfortable symptoms during quitting

When you stop smoking, your body and brain have to get used to not having nicotine. You may have some uncomfortable symptoms, such as anxiety, or a hard time concentrating or sleeping.
 
In fact, this is because when a person has smoked for many years, the harmful substances in tobacco have caused long-term damage to their body, and they happen to get sick after quitting smoking.Over time, these symptoms will fade, as long as they stay smoking-free.
 
In addition, smoking is an addictive disease. Physical maladjustment reactions are the strongest in the first 14 days, and then gradually ease before disappearing after about a month.
 
6.Find a scientific way to quit smoking

The World Health Organization has identified tobacco dependence as a chronic disease.
 
Nicotine in tobacco acts on the brain and stimulates nerve cells to produce dopamine, which is pleasant. When nicotine is metabolized, the dopamine level in the body will drop rapidly, prompting smokers to continuously seek nicotine, resulting in tobacco dependence.
 
Upon quitting smoking, many smokers will feel restless and depressed. Finding a correct and scientific way is the key to success.