The following content is created in partnership with the Abrahamson Center. It does not reflect the work or opinions of the NBC Miami editorial staff. Click here to learn more about the Abrahamson Center.
You have your reasons for smoking. Maybe it started when you befriended those people who puff outside your office building. From there, maybe you turned to smoking or vaping to relieve stress—or maybe just to feel good (like caffeine, nicotine is a stimulant). Now the habit has become an emotional crutch. And you worry that quitting will bring, not just withdrawal symptoms, but some extra pounds (which bothers you even more than all the fates of not quitting).
But what if you instead focused on all the good things that happen when you quit? Beyond dodging long-term dangers like lung cancer and heart disease, quitting can make you feel good in months, weeks, even days. Here are five ways.
You’ll sport a brighter smile: Juan Vargas, an ex-smoker, quit last November. Notes Vargas, “I left the treatment and felt like I no longer needed to smoke. Now when I go to my dentist, she says, ‘Oh Juan, I can see it in your teeth.’ And I’m so proud.” (Vargas, like other ex-smokers quoted here, quit smoking after one or more sessions at the Abrahamson Center, an international addiction treatment complex.) Sure enough, smoking and oral health don’t go well together—the habit yellows teeth and darkens gums (which, incidentally, can signal gum disease, leading to tooth loss). Quitting can put you back on track to a more attractive smile: Immediately, your teeth will stop yellowing and, within three months, your gums will likely return to their normal color. Bonus: You’ll enjoy eating more too. “Food tastes so much better now,” says Didi Suliman of Aventura.
Your skin can glow again: After Jeannine Bergmann stopped smoking, "Not only could I see my skin replenish, I didn’t have the urge to smoke any longer, which is amazing!" she says, even though she only smoked a couple times a week. Vargas adds, “People said, ‘Oh, you look great. Your skin!’” The reason for the improvement: Smoking narrows your blood vessels, robbing the skin of oxygen and nutrients—and it often shows. Your skin may look paler than it should, or possibly appear uneven in tone and coloring. Plus, the process can break down your collagen, leading to sagging and those wrinkles around your lips (aggravated by all that puckering).
You’ll . . . oh, that smell: “It’s nice not to smell like cigarettes—not to smell like an ashtray,” says Luiza Renuart of Brickell, who also no longer feels the need to smoke after her Abrahamson Center treatment. Adds Meir Buhnik, a reformed smoker from Galilee, Israel, “The breath of a smoker is not the nicest thing to have.” It’s true: Unless you’ve lost your ability to smell (a sense cigarettes do destroy), you know smoking leaves you with a very un-fresh scent. And that stale odor can pretty much spread around you: Smoke deposits carcinogenic residue on everything it touches. To add insult to acridity, it can seep into your sweat glands, giving you quite the bitter aroma. Give it up, though, and all that changes. “I no longer have to worry about how I smell,” says Raul Fernandez of Miami.
You’ll get physical: After quitting, “I started doing more sports, because I could finally carry myself physically,” says Lisa Shaked, who works in a dolphin preserve. “My physical fitness has increased." Adds Renuart, “I made the decision to quit, and have gained back my energy and will to do things, like hang out with friends, play sports and live a full, healthy life.” Indeed, quit smoking and you’ll have a much easier time working out and your exercise will be more effective. Some 72 hours after your last cigarette, your lung capacity increases. And within 2 to 12 weeks, your blood circulation improves. Basically, you’ll have more energy. And while some worry that quitting will make them fat, some people actually lose weight. “Every time I smoked, I ate, and every time I ate, I gained weight,” says Karen Cohen of Hollywood. “I quit smoking and turned my health around. No more smoke, no more junk food.” Adds Julie Mora of Miami, “I’m four years smoke-free and I’ve lost 20 pounds.”
You’ll save money: “Every day, I would spend $6 on a pack—which is a little over $3,000 a year,” says Juan Vargas of Miami. “Now I am able to save that money and go on a family vacation every year with the ones I love.” Some smokers in southern Florida spend even more: The average price of one popular cigarette brand in Miami hovers around $7 per pack. For a heavy smoker who puffs through two packs a day, that means an immediate saving of $14 a day—or $5,110 a year. Says Melinda Cruz of Brickell, “Buying a pack of cigarettes every day doesn’t seem like a lot, but it took a lot out of my wallet. Once I quit, my wallet thanked me.”
Even more good things await when you quit smoking. With just one treatment, the Abrahamson Center’s natural, drug-free treatment can douse your urge to light up. Click here to learn more.
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