1. Because life is worth living. Smoking increases your risk of heart attack, stroke, lung cancer, throat cancer, diabetes, emphysema, and many other serious health problems. It is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
2. Because life is worth living longer. Every cigarette you smoke shortens your life by 11 minutes.
3. Your ticker. As soon as you quit, your risk for heart disease begins to go down. After just a year of being smoke-free, your risk of dying from heart disease is cut in half.
4. A healthy pregnancy and baby. Smoking increases the risk of problem pregnancies — affecting both the mother and her unborn baby.
5. A healthy sex life. Smoking can cause infertility and sexual problems, such as erectile dysfunction.
6. Your kids or grandkids. If you smoke, your children are more likely to start smoking. Children of smokers develop more colds, bronchitis, and pneumonia than children of nonsmokers. Learn more about thedangers of breathing secondhand smoke.
7. Your pets. The toxins in secondhand smoke pose a risk not only to humans, but also to animals — including dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and other beloved pets.
8. The bathroom mirror. Smoking can cause wrinkles, dull the skin, and stain your teeth, making you look older than you are.
9. Cleaner air. Smoking harms your family and friends through secondhand smoke. Plus, your home — and everyone in it — will smell better.
10. Smiling with your own teeth. Smoking can lead to gum disease and other dental problems. People who smoke are twice as likely to lose teeth as people who do not smoke.
11. Cash in your pocket. It’s expensive. Quit and do something special with the money you’ve saved.
Still not convinced? Make your own list, or get more reasons to quit.
Get tools and information for quitting in our health encyclopedia.
Sources: American Cancer Society
; American Lung Association; Group Health Cooperative
Reviewed by: Albert Ray, MD and Juanita Redfield, MD, February 2014
© 2014 Kaiser Permanente
