Deciding To Quit Smoking Is A Smart Move At Any Age

It doesn’t matter what your age is, facts are, you’re never too old to quit smoking. Every cigarette you smoke is loaded with toxins that impact your health. Smoking is a silent killer.

Even if you’ve smoked for years, a mere 20 minutes after stubbing out your last cigarette, the benefits of your decision will start to kick in and stick with you for years to come.

First off, there’s help available from quit smoking hypnotherapy. This form of hypnotherapy will help you stick to your decision to quit and manage your cravings, ensuring you’ll enjoy your reduced risk of stroke or cancer.

If you suffer from emphysema or experience chronic bronchitis, quitting will help to prevent additional damage. Moreover, after quitting, you’ll find your circulation and lung function also improve. So, you’ll feel physically healthier, more energized and with improved stamina. In short, it’s never too late to quit smoking.

Why Many Older Smokers Want to Quit Smoking

Ironically, many smokers want to quit smoking. Why don’t they simply quit? Mostly, it’s having to deal with the cravings and withdrawal symptoms, feeling anxious, irritable or nervous. Some are afraid of putting on weight or use cigarettes to relieve stress.

Experience in the field suggests some smokers try up to 30 times before they finally quit for good, while others give in to cravings, mainly due to the emotional exhaustion associated with nicotine withdrawal. None of these is a good reason not to quit smoking, but that’s the nature of nicotine addiction. Once they’ve quit smoking, people usually look back confused why they didn’t quit earlier!

Older Smokers Can Quit Successfully

Contrary to what you might expect, quitting smoking later in life is not harder or futile. Studies suggest many GPs are missing potential opportunities to encourage older smokers to quieting. Many older smokers are less likely to be offered support in their efforts to quit smoking, despite on average being less addicted to nicotine than younger smokers.

Given the health benefits of quitting smoking, older smokers should not be put in the position of missing out on therapies such as quit smoking hypnotherapy to assist them in their efforts to quit smoking.

Provided they are motivated, older smokers are just as capable of quitting for good as younger smokers. For one thing, they’ve had years loathing their addiction.

Together with enjoying improved health after they quit, older smokers also report feeling gratitude and immense relief at finally having quit. That sense of relief helps them to stick with their decision to stop smoking.

Quitting Significantly Reduces Older Smokers Health Risks

The health risks associated with smoking increase with age. According to research, a 60-year-old smoker is exposed to the same risk of suffering a heart attack as a 79-year-old non-smoker. Similarly, they have the same risk of having a stroke as a 69-year-old non-smoker.

The number of cigarettes smoked per day and the years spent smoking also influence the risk of experiencing a smoking-related disease. The more cigarettes smoked each day over an extended time, the greater the risk.

However, there are benefits to quitting smoking at any age. Some of the risk factors for smoking include:

One landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed smokers who quit by around age 40 can fend off premature death.

Smokers who continued smoking can lose roughly a decade off their life expectancy, those who stopped smoking between ages 35 to 44 were able to recover a total of nine years, according to the study.

Middle-aged smokers who decide to quit can also reap the benefits of nixing their habit. Smokers who stopped while they were aged 45 to 54 recovered on average, six lost years, while those between the ages 55 to 64 who stopped smoking got back four of their lost years.

Quitting young, before age 35, erased the entire decade of lost life expectancy. So there’s that. Most of the gains in life expectancy can be attributed to the twin perils of heart disease and stroke dropping rapidly following your decision to quit smoking. Both diseases are the byproducts of smoking tobacco triggering arterial clotting, a process that can be quickly reversed.

Regardless of Your Age, Quitting Will Improve Your Health

One of the quickest benefits of quitting smoking is an almost immediate drop in your heart rate and blood pressure. You may also discover your teeth look whiter and your breath is fresher.

Even if you suffered a heart attack while you smoked, the good news is quitting can significantly reduce your chances chance of suffering another attack. In some instances, quitting can halve your chances or even more.

Every day that you smoke steals away more of your life and your health. Never accept the misguided belief that it’s too late to quit smoking. That’s your nicotine addiction talking.

Final Observation

Regardless of your age, quit smoking hypnotherapy can help you get through the cravings that accompany quitting smoking and unlock benefits that improve your health. Once you butt out that final cigarette, you can feel the benefits of your newer, healthier self, kick in.