Are you trying to quit smoking? There are plenty of reasons why you should. Read on as we look at some reasons to quit smoking that you may not have considered.
Did you know that more than 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease? Almost everyone is familiar with the fact that smoking is not good for your health? If you are still smoking there are plenty of reasons to quit smoking besides the potential of getting lung cancer.
Keep reading to learn about these reasons that you might not be aware of.
1. Autoimmune Disease
Smoking raises your risk of developing an autoimmune disease most commonly lupus. This chronic disease can cause inflammation, tissue damage, and pain throughout the entire body.
Quitting will reduce the risk of developing lupus and having to deal with the effects of living with an autoimmune disease.
2. Snoring
Smoking will cause you to snore and it has been known that the more you smoke the more you snore. If you live with others and you expose them to secondhand smoke you can even cause them to snore.
If you have kids at home they too might snore a bit at night because of the exposure to your smoke. If you need one good reason to quit – your kid’s health should be enough.
3. Acid Reflux
Those that smoke are more than likely to have acid reflux. This disease can be extremely painful when it is chronic. Heavy smoking is linked to heartburn and dealing with the pain that comes along with it.
4. Work Rewards
If you work for a company you might not be aware that they offer rewards and incentives for non-smokers. Many times these incentives are completely worth it to kick the habit. The incentives can be anything from lower health insurance payments to a free wellness program to guaranteed bonuses every month.
Companies understand that when they are running a business and have employers that are smokers their business is at risk. Smoker employees will have lower productivity than non-smokers because of their frequent breaks throughout the day and they tend to have more absences due to health conditions.
5. Colic Risk
If you have a new baby at home you can increase their risk of colic if you expose them to tobacco smoke. If you do not want to have to deal with an irritable baby or a baby that keeps you up all night then do not smoke at all.
Colic is something that will start a few weeks after the baby is born and will peak around five to eight weeks after being born. If you increase the baby’s chances of colic you will have to deal with not only an irritable baby but also a baby that won’t stop crying, screaming, clenched fists, a red face, and drawn-up legs.
What scientists have found is that tobacco smoke raises motilin levels in the blood and intestines. This is a gut hormone that increases stomach and intestine contractions. When the levels of motilin are higher than average it is linked to higher chances of colic.
6. Vision
Were you aware that smoking does not only affect your lungs but also your vision? Smokers are more likely to become blind after some time because of macular degeneration. This condition leads to complete loss of central vision which in turn leads to blindness.
Blindness occurs because after time you are not able to use the part of the retina that allows you to do things such as read, sew, or drive.
7. SIDS
If you are a mom and just had a baby and are sharing a bed with the baby, you are increasing the chances of your baby suffering from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Even if you do not share a bed, the baby is at a higher risk of suffering from SIDS than a baby who does not have parents or a mom that smokes.
As a parent avoiding this terrible situation should be reason enough to kick the habit to the curb.
8. Arthritis
If arthritis runs in your family and you are a smoker you are increasing your chances of developing arthritis than someone who doesn’t smoke. In a study that was done in Sweden, researchers screened participants’ blood for a protein called epitope (SE).
The epitope is the gene-encoding protein linked to rheumatoid arthritis.
9. Fertility
If you are planning on growing your family and having kids then smoking is a habit you might want to quit sooner rather than later. Smoking increases the infertility rate in younger people. It does not matter if you are a smoker or are exposed to secondhand smoke, your chances of infertility are still higher.
In women, smoking lowers the amount of estrogen that is produced by women, and in men smoking decreases the sperm count. Women might also deal with suffering a miscarriage which can lead to damaging an organ, an egg, or have ovulation problems in the future.
If you want to have little ones then saying goodbye to smoking is a wise decision.
Now You Have More Reasons to Quit Smoking
As you can see there are more reasons to quit smoking than you might have thought. Although many people in the United States try to quit every year it is an ongoing battle because of its addictive properties. These are only a few reasons to stop smoking there are even more from colon cancer to depression to thyroid disease.
Please reach out for help if you are tired of smoking and are having a difficult time quitting the habit.
Did our blog post help you today? Please bookmark our health section to never miss our latest.
