There are five successive stages to quitting smoking:
| Pre-contemplation | Not thinking about quitting |
| Contemplation | Thinking about quitting but not yet ready |
| Preparation | Getting ready to quit |
| Action | Quitting |
| Maintenance | Remaining a non smoker |
When smokers quit cigarettes, within twenty minutes of smoking that last and final cigarette a series of changes begin in your body and your wallet:
After 20 minutes of quitting smoking:
- Blood pressure decreases
- Pulse rate drops
- Body temperature of hands and feet increases
After 12 hours:
- Carbon monoxide level in blood drops
- Oxygen level in blood increases
After 24 hours:
- Almost all of the nicotine is out of your body
- Your blood pressure and heart rate are dropping towards normal levels
- Your chance of heart attack decreases
- You have more oxygen in your blood
Based on smoking a packet a day, after one day of not smoking you'll have an extra $14 in your pocket. You could treat yourself to a café lunch, a couple of your favourite magazines or hiring a couple of movies or save that money.
After 2 days:
- Your sense of smell and taste begin to improve
- You notice that your skin, hair and breath smell fresher
- Less carbon monoxide in your system means your lungs are working more efficiently
- Nerve ending start to re-grow
You've saved $28. You could buy a good bottle of wine, take a friend to the movies, buy a book, CD or DVD or better still pay off some debts or save.
Join others and become a non smoker - make the decision to not only give you back your life but also your money!
After 1 week:
- The small hair-like structures that clean your lungs (cilia) are starting to work again. Accumulated phlegm from smoking will loosen and you will start to cough it up and get rid of it
- Your body is purged of most nicotine by-products
You've got a crisp $100 bill in your pocket that you wouldn't normally have. A day out with the family, a new outfit, prepaying one of your bills - imagine that!
After 1 month:
- Your lungs are working more efficiently
- Walking and exercising is easier
- Your blood pressure has returned to normal
- Your immune system is starting to recover
- Circulation improves
- Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decreases
An extra $400 that you wouldn't have had if you were smoking. The possibilities are increasing as is your health. You could buy a new TV or sound system, you could go away for a weekend break or even reduce your credit card bill by more than $400.
After 3 - 6 months:
- You don't cough and wheeze as much
- Your lung function continues to improve
- Blood flow to the limbs and extremities improves
- You may feel less stressed or in a better mood than when you were smoking
- Lungs have regained the capacity to clean themselves properly
After 3 months you've saved $1,300. That is enough money to buy yourself a new computer and printer. You could also have a new home theatre package including DVD and speakers in your lounge room. After 6 months you'll have saved enough money for a down payment on a new car or a lifetime holiday with the $2,600 you would have burned up in smoke.
Join others and become a non smoker - make the decision to not only give you back your life but also your money!
After 1 year:
- Your increased risk of premature death from heart attack and coronary heart disease is halved
After a whole year of not smoking you'll have more than $5,000 in your bank account to spend. Imagine all the possibilities of how you could spend that: new home appliances, a lifetime holiday, $5,000 off your mortgage payments, having your teeth fixed or having the money set aside as a buffer.
The pre tax amount you would have worked for is a minimum of $6,800 over the whole year. Imagine what it would be like to have the option of reducing the hours you work by one day each week and still have the same amount of money in your wallet at the end of each week…
After 10 years:
- Risk of lung cancer drops to as little as one half that of continuing smokers (provided the disease is not already present)
- Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophageus, bladder, kidney and pancreas degreases
- Risk of stroke is substantially reduced
Within 10 years you'll have saved $68,000 of pre tax money and that's calculated at today's prices. As we all know cigarettes never go down in price do they?
The average smoker's life is 14 years shorter than the life of a non smoker. So by quitting you are literally adding 14 years onto your life. How much is that worth to you?
After 15 years:
- Risk of coronary hard disease is now similar to that of lifetime non smokers
- Risk of coronary heart disease and death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked
The savings keep adding up - over $100,000 and this doesn't even take into account cumulative savings. By adding years to your life you'll have much more money to enjoy your life.
Add years to your life and thousands to your bank account
If you stop smoking, you'll save money in many other ways, including:
- You're less likely to suffer from colds, flu or other respiratory infections which means fewer trips to the doctor, less money spent on medications and fewer sick days
- You won't need so many visits to the dentist to have your teeth professionally cleaned and fixed
- You'll reduce the time and money spent on maintaining the house. For example, smoking inside your home discolours paint and wallpaper
- You'll cut down your cleaning bills because clothes, furniture, upholstery and the interior of your car will no longer stink of cigarette smoke
- The risk of fire in your home is lower
- Your health insurance premiums may be reduced
Please note that there are NO serious side effects of being A FRESH AIR BREATHING PERSON FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE:
- You will look, smell and feel much better!
- You will save so much money!
- You will take back control once and for all!
- You will have much more energy!
- You will look younger and not be aging before your time
- You will be setting a good example to your children
- You will be adding years to your life
Join others and become a non smoker - make the decision to not only give you back your life but also your money!
Smoking and Anti-Social Behavior
Smoking used to be cool, the coolest thing you could do. Just watch an episode of Mad Men or turn on a Humphrey Bogart flick for proof-tobacco used to be the King of suave. These days, however, cigarettes have lost their glitz and glamour; in most Western countries, smoking is frowned upon and is quickly losing is social acceptability.
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