The Advantages and Disadvantages of Stopping Smoking

By Nicotinist On December 21, 2010 Under Smoking Cessation Diary

My previous blog entry described actions, which I took to find my motivation to continue my life as a nonsmoker. One of the actions was to write down both advantages and disadvantages of stopping smoking. This blog entry describes that list without leaving anything out. I present you the advantages and disadvantages of stopping smoking:

Advantages:

Freedom. I am no longer a slave of the cigarette. Smoking does not control my life anymore. I can do what ever I want to without lighting up a cigarette first. That is a great feeling.
Better self-esteem. I have proved to myself that I do not need Nicotine anymore. This has had a huge positive impact to my self-esteem, because I have really believed that I cannot ever live my life without tobacco. It feels so good to realize, how wrong I have been.
No social stigma. Smoking is no longer considered as a cool thing. There is a negative social stigma associated with it. When I am not smoking, that stigma is not associated with me anymore. I am no longer considered as a second class citizen.
Smokers envy me. I am not particularly proud of this one, but I feel that many smokers are envying me, because they cannot yet believe that they can do the same thing, which I have done. On the other hand, the truth is that there is nothing to envy, because I am still a million miles away from my goal. Nevertheless, this thought is giving me motivation to go on.
Working out is more effective. I have noticed that when I am not smoking, the results, which I have achieved by working out, are a lot better. I am not sure, what is the scientific reason for this, but I believe that it has got something to do with fact that my blood can transport more oxygen than before. To be honest, it does not really matter. The only thing, which matters to me, is that this motivates me to continue my smoke free life.
Positive health effects. Well, I am sure that everyone is aware of the fact that smoking is harmful for one’s health. One of the most notable health effects of stopping smoking is improved lung function. It feels unbelievable good to inhale fresh air instead of tobacco smoke. Fortunately, stopping smoking has got a lot of other positive health effects as well. I just personally happen to feel that getting a deep breath of fresh air feels amazing!
Better hygiene. One of the coolest side effects of stopping smoking is that I do not smell of tobacco any longer. Leaving this unpleasant smell behind also ensures that no one will tell me that I smell awful. That is one of most humiliating situation, which a smoker may have to face. I am so lucky that I left all that behind me.
Improved sense of taste and smell. I like cooking, and a good sense of taste (and smell as well) is an essential tool of any chef. Hopefully improved sense of taste and smell will help me to make my food taste even better. On the other hand, I am really hoping that I will not start loving food too much…
Saving money. Even though I did not want to admit it, smoking is really expensive. To be honest, it would be wiser just simply to burn money instead of cigarettes. This way you would be only harming your wallet, not your health. I used to smoke about 30 cigarettes in a day. Thus, stopping smoking saves me 6.9 euros every day.

Disadvantages:

Enjoying social situations feel hard. This feeling is honestly the only negative thing about stopping smoking. The good thing is that this feeling is not real. It is just a feeling, which is caused by my insecurity. Unfortunately, my slip has made me fear that I cannot enjoy social situations without smoking. Obviously, this is not true, but I still have to find a way to deal with it.

As you can see, stopping smoking has got no real disadvantages. The disadvantages are created by my internal addict, who does not want that I succeed. Luckily for me, it seems that I have got only one disadvantage left. Unfortunately, that one might be the hardest one to break. Any ideas?