Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do to improve your health.

When burned, cigarettes create more than 7000 toxic chemicals, many of which are proven to cause cancer and other serious illnesses. Half of all long-term smokers will die prematurely as a result of smoking.

It’s not just good for your health though. Quitting smoking will also save you money, improve your appearance and protect people around you from harmful second-hand smoke.

For your health

The health benefits of quitting start immediately and continue for a long time if you don’t start smoking again. Smoking is also very expensive, so the sooner you stop, the more you save.

Cigarette smoke mainly consists of tar, carbon monoxide and the addictive substance nicotine.

• Tar: A toxic mix of chemicals that can cause cancer, lung disease, heart disease and other harmful conditions.
• Carbon monoxide: This is the poisonous gas you inhale when you smoke. It’s linked to heart disease and adverse effects in pregnancy.
• Nicotine: The highly addictive component of cigarette smoke. Nicotine causes addiction similar to drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

Other poisonous chemicals in cigarette smoke include:

• ammonia
• arsenic
• benzene
• formaldehyde
• hydrogen cyanide

Smoking harms nearly every organ in your body, causing many different illnesses and diseases. Some of these are life-threatening diseases such as cancer, lung disease, heart disease and stroke.

Half of all long-term smokers will die prematurely as a result of smoking. Half of these will be in middle age.

Improvement in physical appearance

Smoking also damages your looks, but stopping smoking can have a real positive effect on your appearance.

Smoking dries your skin, leading to premature wrinkles. Stopping smoking can make you look younger.

Squinting when smoke gets in your eyes and puckering your mouth when inhaling causes wrinkles around the eyes and mouth. Stopping smoking will prevent these wrinkles appearing early.

People who smoke often have a grey, wasted appearance. Stopping smoking can bring back a healthy skin tone.

Smokers are two or three times more likely than non-smokers to develop psoriasis, a chronic skin condition. Stopping smoking will help your skin recover its natural texture.

Smoking damages blood vessels in the eyes, creating a bloodshot appearance. Stopping smoking will help your eyes recover.

Smokers have stained teeth and gums and bad breath, no matter how much they brush, floss and visit their dentist. Stopping smoking will significantly improve your breath and prevent any further damage to your teeth.

Smoking discolours fingers and fingernails.

For your family

More than 80% of secondhand smoke is invisible and has no smell. So, even if you are careful to avoid smoking in the same room as them or open a window when you smoke, they will still breathe in harmful chemicals. This puts them at greater risk of developing meningitis, cancer, bronchitis and pneumonia.

What is secondhand smoke?

Every time you light a cigarette, it produces smoke, most of which you inhale when you take a draw on it. Some of this smoke gets exhaled again, however, and this along with smoke from the lit end of the cigarette can be breathed in by other people. This is secondhand smoke.

Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, many of which highly toxic, including;

• Arsenic, which is found in rat poison
• Benzene, which is found in petrol fumes and can cause leukaemia
• Cyanide, which is poisonous and is an industrial pollutant

Cigarette smoke also contains more than 50 known carcinogens, which can cause many cancers including of the lungs, mouth, kidney, liver and stomach.

Secondhand smoke and children

Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke because they breathe more rapidly and their lungs and immune system are less developed.

Every time a child breathes in secondhand smoke, they are inhaling thousands of chemicals, putting them at risk of serious health problems, including meningitis and cancer, as well as respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia.

It’s not just the health effects of secondhand smoke that can harm your children though. Almost three quarters of children whose parents smoke worry that their mum or dad will die as a result of smoking. Children whose parents smoke are also three times more likely to smoke themselves when they grow up. By quitting, you are setting a positive example which could help protect your child’s health for the rest of their life.

To save money

On average, people who stop smoking save as much as £250 every month. That’s almost £3,000 wasted on cigarettes every year. Think about everything else you could be spending that money on!