Benefits of Quitting

Health Benefits

Your health immediately benefits from quitting, and the risks of smoking related diseases reduce progressively when you stay quit:

It is never too late to quit; the earlier you quit, the more you will benefit:

Age of quitting Number of years reclaimed
30 years old 10 years
40 years old 9 years
50 years old 6 years
60 years old 3 years

Other Benefits

In addition to the health benefits, you are also doing yourself a huge favour in other ways by quitting:

Regain your freedom
You are free from the restrictive habit of smoking. Without this confining activity, you are free to do other things you love. You are also no longer confined to the designated smoking areas outdoors. You can go wherever you want!
Regaining your time
It takes time to go and smoke cigarettes, and you lose this time when you take cigarette breaks from work or other daily activities. You can spend the time sleeping in, eating a good meal, enjoying a cup of coffee, or running that extra lap.
Saving your money
Did you know that smoking a pack of cigarettes each day means throwing a month of your hard-earned salary down the drain every year? One pack of cigarettes may not seem much but all that money adds up.
Be a better role model for your children and the younger generation
You have successfully quit smoking – that is no easy feat! By sharing your experiences with your children or the younger generation, you can have positive influence on their lives and motivate them for improvement. You can even save lives!

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. The health consequences of smoking: A report of the Surgeon General. 2004.

2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. DHHS Publication No. (CDC) 88-8406. 1988

3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. DHHS Publication No. (CDC) 90-8416. 1990.

4. World Health Organization. Tobacco Free Initiative – Fact sheet about health benefits of smoking cessation. Available at https://www.who.int/tobacco/quitting/benefits/en/

5. Mahmud, A, Feely, J. Effect of Smoking on Arterial Stiffness and Pulse Pressure Amplification. Hypertension. 2003; 41(1):183-7.

6. Biochemical verification of tobacco use and cessation. SRNT Subcommittee on Biochemical Verification. Nicotine Tob Res. 2002 May; 4(2):149-59.

7. Doty, Richard L., and Steven M. Bromley. "Effects of drugs on olfaction and taste." Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America 37.6 (2004): 1229-1254.

8. Frye RE, Schwartz BS, Doty RL. Dose-related effects of cigarette smoking on olfactory function. JAMA 1990;263:1233–6.

9. R Doll, R Peto, J Boreham, I Sutherland. Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years' observations on male British doctors. BMJ 2004;328:1519

22 November 2023