Is 2019 the year you finally plan to quit smoking?
If it is, it’s going to be difficult.
The health benefits from giving up smoking will be amazing.
In Malta, the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Directorate runs a series of free stop smoking programmes to help you quit.
To get expert help, call the Malta Quitline on 8007 3333.
Here’s what your body does without cigarettes
Day one
WebMD states that after just one day without a cigarette your carbon monoxide levels are back to normal which means your heart doesn’t have to pump so hard to get enough oxygen to your body.
If you smoke a pack a day, you’re twice as likely to have a heart attack as a nonsmoker. But go one full day without a cigarette, and you’ve lowered your chances. That’s huge.
Two weeks to three months
The first fortnight will be extremely awful, but your lungs start to recover and will continue to keep getting better. Your lungs are stronger and clearer so you can do much more and your blood flow has improved. You can exercise without getting as winded.
Around the one month mark you may notice that many smoking-related symptoms have decreased, such as sinus congestion and shortness of breath with exercise, Healthline writes.
Three to nine months
Right now, you’re smashing it. Your lungs continue to improve and the disgusting hacking cough has been replaced by something more normal.
Women can improve their fertility as well as reduce the risk that her baby will be born prematurely.
One year
If you’ve gone a year without smoking you have cut your risk of catching heart disease in half from what it was a year ago.
Money wise, if you smoked a packet a day you’ll have saved well over €2,000.
That’s the same price as a luxury cruise from Malta!
Read more: Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Directorate
