Why Quitting Is Important. (Part 2)

I don't think I need to go on. Just read my past post, Why Quitting Is Important. My husband, Doug, quit smoking on Saturday, September 21st, of 2001, just seven months after we married. He just hit one decade of being smoke free.

If you quit RIGHT NOW:

• In 20 minutes...your blood pressure will return to normal
• In 8 hours...the carbon monoxide levels in your blood stream will drop by half, and oxygen levels will return to normal.
• In 48 hours...your chance of having a heart attack will begin its long decline. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will return to a normal level.
• In 72 hours...your bronchial tubes will relax, and your overall energy level will rise.
• In 2 weeks...your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next ten weeks.
• In 3 to 9 months...coughs, wheezing, and breathing problems will dissipate as your lung capacity improves by 10%.
• In 1 year...your risk of having a heart attack will have now dropped by half.
• In 5 years...your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non smoker.
• In 10 years...your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non smoker.
• In 15 years...your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non smoker.

If you smoke, it takes fifteen years for your body to recover! If you quit right now and you're in your early to mid thirties, by the time your body repairs itself from smoking, you will be in your fifties, and you still have a chance of a long and healthy life. If you're in your twenties, even better. You will reach your mid thirties (my husband will be 39 when his body is completely recovered from smoking), teens, if you quit now, you will have a long and healthy life.

Quit today. I have a 33 year old friend who has COPD. I've been very sick and my cough sounds better than hers. That should tell you something.

If you want to talk about quitting, please talk to me. I'll do what I can to help. I will get you in touch with the right people. You can talk to my husband about his experience during his years of smoking and after the process of quitting. (Once he eliminated the very first cigarette of the morning, it was easy for him.) Just comment on this blog, or send me an email at sahtownsend@yahoo.com.

Quitting is not as difficult as other smokers will tell you, I promise.

Thank you for reading. I hope your journey as a quitter begins now.