Five reasons to stop smoking in your 20s or early 30s

Smoking affects almost every organ in your body, and some of the effects have an immediate impact. The good news is that there are also immediate benefits to stopping smoking. For example, although smoking raises your pulse and blood pressure, research shows that they both return to normal within 20 minutes of stopping smoking. After five days of not smoking, most of the nicotine you absorbed will be out of your body, and within one week your senses of taste and smell will improve.

As well as reducing your risk of developing serious illnesses like lung cancer, heart disease, or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), here are a few of the many ways your life might be improved by stopping smoking:

1. You'll gain more than just better health. You'll save money because you're no longer buying cigarettes. You'll look and feel better if you don't have tobacco-stained (yellowing) teeth or fingers, or the premature wrinkles that smoking can cause around your mouth and eyes. You'll smell better without smoke lingering on your breath, clothes, and in your hair. You'll have more housing options since many rental properties don't allow smokers. And travel will be more enjoyable without having to worry about when and where you'll get your next chance to smoke.
2. You'll add 10 years to your life expectancy. Stopping before the age of 35 can give you up to 10 more years of life, according to US based National Cancer Institute (NCI). A recent NCI study reported that smoking just one cigarette a day, starting in your teens or 20s, can increase your risk of early death by as much as 64 percent.
3. You'll increase your odds of having healthy children. Quitting gives both men and women a better chance of conceiving and raising a healthy child. Smoking while pregnant can increase the risk of miscarriage, impact the development of the foetus, and contribute to low birth weight. Low birth weight is associated with diabetes, obesity, and heart disease in children. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that smoking and passive smoking affects both male and female fecundity. In men, it can contribute to erectile dysfunction and can lower both sperm count and motility. In women, the chemicals in cigarettes reduce egg quality and speed up the loss of eggs, which cannot be replaced or regenerated.
4. You'll improve the health of those around you. Just as there is no safe level of smoking, there's no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke (whether in the form of smoke from the burning tobacco products or from breathing in smoke that has been exhaled). Second-hand smoke can cause serious health problems such as stroke, lung cancer, and heart disease in adults who do not smoke. Children exposed to second hand smoke are at increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), more frequent and severe asthma, ear and respiratory infections and slowed lung growth. Second hand smoke is not just dangerous for people, it also poses many health risks for pets. Stopping will also eliminate third hand smoke (residue remaining on indoor surfaces that builds up over time), which is thought to create a toxic mix of cancer-causing substances such as nicotine, formaldehyde, and benzene.
5. You'll set a good example for friends, family, and others. Smoking cessation is often a challenging and complex process that may require several tries before you succeed. Many experts suggest that the number of times it takes to quit smoking for good can, on average, range from 8 to 14 attempts. When you have achieved your goal of quitting smoking, you have not only given yourself the gift of improved health and self confidence that comes from achieving this important milestone, but you’ll also set a good example for others. Research has shown that children whose parents do not smoke or who successfully quit smoking are much less likely to take up smoking.

When smokers quit in their 20s or early 30s, not only do they minimise their overall exposure, but they also have the maximum ability to heal any damage smoking has caused up to that point. Simply stated, quitting smoking is the single most important step smokers can take to improve the length and quality of their life.