by Cheri Hinshelwood
Every time you smoke, harmful chemicals and poisons are infused directly into your body. “Smoking harms nearly every organ in the body,” said Kimberly Freeman, RN, CDE, CIC, a certified treatment specialist and nurse clinician in the Diabetes Program at Mission Hospital McDowell, “Your body begins healing itself between cigarettes. You deserve to give yourself a fresh start this New Year.”
(Transcript below infographic)
10 Reasons to Quit Smoking
- Smoking is the No. 1 preventable cause of lung cancer.
- About 1 in 5 deaths from heart disease is caused by smoking.
- Tobacco use increases blood sugar levels and leads to diabetes.
- Tobacco smoke contains dozens of cancer-causing agents and poisons.
- Tar from cigarettes coats your lungs, making them work harder.
- Smoking makes blood thicker, increasing your risk for stroke.
- Women smokers are 4 times as likely to have a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy.
- Smoking damages blood vessels and leads to erectile dysfunction.
- Nonsmoking family inhale cancer-causing agents and poisons.
- Smokers have high levels of carbon monoxide in their blood, starving their body of oxygen.
5 Things to Look Forward to When You Quit
- Higher energy
- Smoking puts chemicals and oxygen-depleting poisons in your system, and when those are cleared away, you’ll notice an energy boost.
- Better tasting food
- Everything you eat will taste amazing as your taste buds wake up. The chemicals in smoke have dulled your taste buds.
- Easy breathing
- When you stop smoking, your lungs will help sweep out the tar and chemicals. Coughing may increase temporarily as your body rids itself of dangerous chemicals.
- Better skin tone
- When you stop, your body and skin will get the nutrients they needs and you may look younger.
- Being a role model
- Hold your head high as you set an example in your home for clean living.
Kimberly Freeman, RN, CDE, CIC, is a certified tobacco treatment specialist and nurse clinician in the Diabetes Program at Mission Hospital McDowell.