For many smokers it is easier to continue smoking than to give it up. At the start of the new year we make our resolutions with the best intentions to stub it out forever. However, we are doomed before we even start by coming up with endless excuses not to go through with it. We make these excuses because we are too stressed at work or worry about putting on weight if we quit smoking. The reality is these excuses are a form of denial and to continue doing this will have a huge impact on our health later in life.

Here are a number of reasons that will prove to you that continuing to smoke is not a smart option:

How You Look

In the Western world smoking is on the decline. Gone are the days that advertisers led us to believe that we looked cool and sophisticated with a cigarette dangling from our mouth. At one stage they were even telling us cigarettes were good for our health! As an ex smoker one of the many stark discoveries that I found was the smell of a smoker. The smoke from a cigarette clings to your clothes like a magnet but as a smoker I could never smell the smoke until I gave up. What I realized is smokers are not aware that they stink!

Certain chemicals in tobacco stain your teeth and this does no favors for your smile even if you have a great set of teeth. Cigarettes also stain your fingers and I can remember many times scrubbing my fingers with soap and a nail brush to remove those dirty yellow stains without any success.

Cigarettes are also very effective at sucking out any moisture from your body and the chemicals play a huge role in aging the skin. Take a look in the mirror and notice the crows feet around the eyes and lips getting deeper. A smoker can look tens years older than a person of the same age who does not smoke. That is a very sobering thought.

Your Health

The damage that cigarettes do on the outside pales into insignificance to the damage it causes your body from within. It is widely proven that cigarettes can cause numerous forms of cancer and in particular, lung cancer and mouth cancer. Because your inhaling smoke into your lungs smoking can cause serious respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and emphysema. These conditions can kill you and usually they have a long and painful way of finishing you off. However, you can considerably improve your chances of avoiding this by throwing those cigarettes away.

Quit Smoking Is A Mental Game You Have To Win

I found it easy to quit smoking because I wanted to. If you do not sincerely want to give up then most likely you will fail or find it very difficult to stay committed to quitting. The best thing to do is not get yourself into situations were you will be tempted to light up. This can start by removing any cigarettes, or anything associated with smoking such as lighters and ashtrays from your home. If your friends or social group are smokers then, avoid them for a while until you get through the first few months.

Buy an exercise bike or a good pair of running shoes with the money you save not buying cigarettes and get fit. The key thing is to prove to your mind that you feel a lot better both physically and emotionally without smoking. By staying committed to this you will retrain your mind to the point were putting a cigarette in your mouth becomes a revolting idea.