Smoking is inherently bad for you. The lungs were not designed to breath in smoke, specially on a constant and regular basis, the nicotine lift you feel after a smoke may feel alright, but the damage is being done.

Cigarettes contain over 4,000 toxic chemicals and around 50 of these cause cancer. The three main toxins are nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar. Many of the other chemicals that are hazardous for the health of the smoker include benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide. Admittedly these chemicals are in very small doses but none the less they are still there.

Your body is trying to live with the air that you breath and it will try to process the smoke and chemicals you inhale in the same way, by distributing all the elements of the smoke, ie; tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide and the whole host of other toxins as just listed around your circulatory system.

The long term benefits of smoking are nil as there are no benefits but long term ailments, sickness and disease are high.

Its time for you to stop smoking and when you do stop these are the benefits that you will be in receipt of...

After 20 minutes, your blood pressure and pulse that was sent high by smoking, will slow down to normal levels.
After 8 hours, nicotine and carbon monoxide in the bloodstream will have fallen by 50 and 90% depending on your body weight and the amount you used to smoke per day.
Between 12 and 24 hours most of the remaining nicotine and carbon monoxide will have disappeared from your system along with tar and other smoke remnants.

After 48 hours your sense of taste and smell will improve and continue to improve over the coming weeks. Your blood circulation also improves.
After 72 hours energy levels increase as your body will be 100% free of all nicotine traces, the lungs also start to produce more oxygen and consequently, breathing is easier.
After 1 week blood circulation is many times better and many aches and pains will have receded.
After 1 month, the risk of a cardiac arrest is reduced.

After several months the risk of heart and bronchial cancer is greatly reduced.
After 1 to 5 years the risk of a cardiac arrest is now reduced by 50%
And finally after 10 years and beyond, the risk of cardiac arrest is now the same as someone who has never smoked in their life.

Just a few things for you to think about, but if you enjoy life and want to get more out of it, then quit smoking. If on the other hand you wish to suffer the pains of a smoking related disease including cancer then keep on smoking.

Some Smoking Facts:

Tobacco is one of the strongest cancer-causing agents. Tobacco use is associated with a number of different cancers, including but not limited to lung cancer, chronic lung disease and cardiovascular disease.

Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death, causing an estimated 438,000 deaths in the USA alone.
In the USA alone, approximately 38,000 deaths each year are caused by exposure to second hand smoke.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women with 90 percent of lung cancer deaths among men and approximately 80 percent of lung cancer deaths among women solely attributed to smoking.
Smoking also increases the risk of many other types of cancer, including cancers of the throat, mouth, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix.
People who smoke are up to 6 times more likely to suffer cardiac arrest than non-smokers, and the risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked. Smoking also causes most cases of chronic obstructive lung disease, which includes bronchitis and emphysema.

Benefits of Quitting

Quitting the evil weed isn't easy, but when you see the major improvements to your life and health, you'll want to set your stop smoking plan going as quickly as you can.

How will my health benefit?

You will reduce your risk of developing illness, disability or death caused by cancer, heart or lung disease.

You will reduce your risk of gangrene or amputation caused by circulatory problems.

You will protect the health of those around you by not exposing them to second-hand smoke.

You will reduce the chances of your children suffering from asthma.

You will improve your fertility levels and your chance of a healthy pregnancy and baby.

You will improve your breathing and general fitness.