Quit by Choice

When you’re getting ready to quit smoking, the way you look at the process will have a huge impact on your chances for success. Don’t look at quitting like you’re giving something up, look at it like you’re gaining a long list of benefits. Because you will be.

Here are a couple dozen real-life benefits that you’ll begin to experience almost immediately as soon as you smoke your last cigarette:

1. You’ll be at much lower risk of permanent disability or death from coronary heart disease.
2. You’ll be at much lower risk of getting smoking-related lung diseases like chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
3. Your taste buds will come back to life. You won’t believe how good food will start to taste to you.
4. Your sense of smell will improve (this can be a mixed blessing).
5. Your risk of dying in a fire because you fell asleep with a burning cigarette will be pretty much zero (a Google search on the phrase “fatal fire caused by smoking in bed” brought back over 14 million results just now).
6. Your speaking voice will improve because you’re not continually irritating your throat with toxic smoke.
7. You’ll experience less shortness of breath and fits of coughing.
8. You’ll be less likely to develop an ulcer.
9. Your risk of getting lung cancer will be greatly reduced; oddly enough, especially if your job has a high incidence of lung cancer because you work with asbestos or toxic chemicals.
10. If you’re pregnant, you’ll eliminate any possible smoking-related injury to your unborn child.
11. You’ll feel more comfortable in non-smoking public places and in the homes of non-smoking friends.
12. You’ll get fewer colds.
13. Your circulation will improve.
14. If you have asthma, the frequency and severity of attacks will be greatly decreased.
15. You’ll have more money.
16. You’ll have more energy.
17. You’ll have more stamina.
18. You’ll be a better example for your children; children of non-smoking parents are far less likely to start smoking than children of smokers.
19. You’ll look better.
20. You’ll feel better.
21. You’ll smell better (no more tobacco stink).
22. You’ll feel more in control of your life.
23. Your night vision will improve so you’ll be safer driving at night.
24. You’ll have both hands free again.

Obviously, not all of these benefits will be things that motivate you personally, but they should give you a place to start, to get the wheels turning. What are some of the benefits that would motivate you in a big way?

Feel free to post some of them in the comments: