HOW TO QUIT SMOKING

Smoking not only damages your health – it also has unattractive side effects like wrinkles, dull hair, bad breath and premature ageing.

---

Everyone knows about cigarettes and cancer/heart disease risks, but there are some other nasty and surprising ways that smoking can damage not only your health, but your looks as well. 

WRINKLES

There are more than 4 000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, many of which break down collagen and elastin (that give our skin strength and elasticity). This causes sagging skin and wrinkles. Smoking also depletes the skin’s oxygen and nutrients, creating patchy and uneven skin tone. Smokers also develop deeper ‘crow’s feet’ around the eyes and lines around the mouth from pursing the lips while drawing in the smoke. This is particularly unattractive when lipstick ‘bleeds’ into the cracks!



TEETH, BREATH & FINGERS

Smoking also stains your teeth and increases the build-up of plaque, which causes gum disease. And, of course, smokers’ breath is not the freshest. As if all that weren’t 
enough, heavy smokers can also develop yellow stains on their nails and the tips of their fingers.

SMOKE GETS IN YOUR… HAIR?
Smoking can actually damage the DNA of the hair follicles (sac-like roots from which hairs grow), and because of poor blood circulation, deprive them of nourishment for growth. This can cause hair thinning (as less new hair grows) and hair loss (as the hair falls out). In men who have a family tendency towards baldness, smoking can cause them to lose their hair at an earlier age.

Aside from all of these physical effects of smoking, it can also cause fatigue and lower levels of fitness.



ARE E.CIGARETTES BETTER?

According to the US Food and Drug Administration, the answer is no. Although ‘vapes’, as they’re called, deliver vapour instead of smoke, they have the same chance of causing nicotine addiction and they contain harmful chemicals. Some cancer experts believe they carry the same risk as normal tobacco cigarettes.



WE TAKE A LOOK AT HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR YOUR BODY TO RECOVER AFTER YOUR FINAL CIGARETTE.

20 MINS
Your heart rate and blood pressure drop.

12 HOURS
The carbon monoxide levels in your blood drop to normal.

2 WEEKS TO 3 MONTHS
Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.

1 TO 9 MONTHS 
Coughing and shortness of breath decrease. The cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) start to regain normal function, increasing the ability to remove mucus, clean the lungs and reduce the risk of infection.

1 YEAR
The chances of you suffering from coronary heart disease are reduced by 50%, compared to those who keep lighting up in designated smoking areas.

5 YEARS
The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, oesophagus and bladder is halved. Cervical cancer risk in women falls to that of a non-smoker.

10 YEARS
The risk of dying from lung cancer is halved when compared with anyone still smoking. The risk of cancer of the larynx (voice box) and pancreas drops too.

15 YEARS
The risk of coronary heart disease is that of someone who’s never smoked.

25 YEARS
Your risk of suffering a stroke can drop back down to that of a non-smoker.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE…

• Quitting reduces your risk of diabetes, and improves blood vessel and heart function.
• You’ll save big bucks – if you’ve been smoking a pack a day, you can save about R1 200 a month!
• It’s never too late to quit. Stopping at any age can add years to your life. There are things in life that are beyond your control – but deciding to stop smoking is not one of them!

 NEED HELP & ADVICE ON HOW TO QUIT?
Jet Club members have free access to Jet Club’s helplines.

PERSONAL HEALTH ADVISOR (PHA)
SA & Namibia
0800 00 45 45

From Botswana, Lesotho  & Swaziland, dial
+2711 991 8258

By ANNE HAHN & VIC FOY