It's generally accepted that non-smokers live for many more years than those who puff away.
Cutting out the fags will reduce your chance of dying prematurely by 50%. If you stop before the age of 35, your life expectancy is hardly any different from someone who has never smoked.
If you quit after that, you'll still live longer than those who continue to smoke. For example, those who quit before age 50 have only half the chance of dying in the next 15 years compared with those who continue to smoke.
Many people don't realise how much of a psychological crutch smoking is. Smokers get hooked on cigarettes very quickly and quitting isn't as easy as some people make out.
Stopping is a real achievement and on top of the other benefits we've listed, it can give you a real boost in confidence and self-esteem.
To boost your self-confidence further, you might find some of these books helpful:
- Instant Confidence by Paul McKenna
- 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
- Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers
- Overcoming Low Self-Esteem by Melanie Fennell
- Get tips and advice on stopping smoking
- Read Emma's story of how she managed to quit smoking
- Could your teenager be smoking?
- Get the facts on pregnancy and smoking
- Get more help on quitting from the NHS