Quit Smoking; the why and how
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland and men are more likely to smoke and they often start earlier. Quitting smoking can be a hard journey but it’s always a good decision for your long-term health.
Quitting at any age has benefits for men and can add years to your life and quality to those years. Men who smoke often report poorer health, both in terms of their physical and mental health. Now more than ever, quitting can help keep you healthy as stopping smoking lowers your risk of getting different cancers, heart disease and also severe illness from COVID-19.
Quitting smoking has immediate benefits:
- Within 20 minutes, your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
- 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
- 2-12 weeks, your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
- 1-9 months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
- 1 year, your risk of coronary heart disease is about half that of a smoker’s.
- 5 years, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.
- 10 years, your risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker and your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decreases.
- 15 years, the risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker’s.
If you quit smoking for 28 days you are 5 times more likely to quit forever which will improve your own health but also the health of your friends and family. At the moment, we are all practicing social distancing and changing our daily habits, making it the perfect time to kick old habits like smoking and form new healthier habits that can last a lifetime.
Check out the HSE’s Quit.ie website where you can sign up to a free and personal Quit plan and get advice and supports to help you quit smoking for good.
Click here to read about Eddie’s story of quitting cigarettes for good.