Live Better and Save Money when you Quit Smoking

When you’re shopping for insurance, one of the first question you will be asked is whether or not you smoke. If your answer is “yes,” you will likely have to pay higher premiums than non-smokers. In some cases, insurance agencies can even turn you down because of your smoking habit, and these days, even auto insurers consider smoking a risk factor.

From a strictly financial standpoint, then, it would seem to make sense to quit. After all, you’ll be saving all the cash you’d formerly spent on cigarettes, as well as saving money on insurance. Finances shouldn’t be your first motivation, however; your health should. Here are just a few of the health benefits associated with quitting smoking:

– Your energy level will be higher, and your stamina will increase significantly
– Your blood pressure and pulse rate will improve, falling toward normal
– If you have a cough, it will ease, and your body will produce less phlegm
– Your senses will improve: taste and smell will be stronger, and your field of vision will be wider.
– Your risk of emphysema, heart attacks, and many kinds of cancer will be reduced.
– You will no longer expose your spouse/partner and children to secondhand smoke

You may have read that list, and decided that since that you’ll have to go through nicotine withdrawal the discomfort isn’t worth the end result. Think again. Withdrawal lasts roughly seventy-two hours during which your health is improving minute by minute, and then your body begins to rebuild. Here’s a breakdown:

• After 20 minutes without a cigarette: Your blood pressure will begin to revert to normal.
• After 10 hours of not smoking: The amount of nicotine in your blood is already greatly reduced, and the carbon monoxide in your system has been cut in half. As well, your blood oxygen levels are approaching normal once more.
• After 24 hours: You’ll already feel less exhausted after fifteen minutes of simple exercise.
• After 48 hours: The worst of your withdrawal symptoms are already almost over, and your body is nearly free of nicotine, which means you now have a greatly reduced chance of hypothermia due to poor circulation.
• After 72 hours: Your bronchial tubes will begin to relax and your breathing will ease. Your energy levels should already be noticeably improved.
• After 5 months: Numerous minor disorders – cold hands and feet, slow-healing skin, etc., and other ailments like Raynaud’s disease will be gone.
• After 1 year: Your risk of having a heart attack will be reduced by half.
• After 10 years: Your risk of lung cancer will be reduced by half.
• After 15 years of being smoke-free: You will be able to essentially live the same way as a person who has never smoked.

Save money. Improve your health. Get better insurance. Quit smoking.