Committing to anything can be a challenge but smoking is one of those habits that people struggle with. The benefits of quitting are huge – not just for your health, but financially too. With the help of the HSE, over 7,000 people have successfully kicked the habit.
Based on the HSE calculator, someone smoking 20 cigarettes per day, could stand to make some significant savings by quitting.
Smoking is a risk factor for acute respiratory infections like flu. People who smoke are more likely to get flu and are more likely to have a worse infection than people who don’t smoke. Even though coronavirus is a new virus, it’s becoming clear that smoking is a risk factor for coronavirus infection too. And just like flu, a coronavirus infection may be more severe in people who smoke.
Quitting smoking has many benefits (listed here) and helps build your natural resistance to all types of infections including coronavirus. When you stop, the natural hairs in your airways (cilia) begin to work again. Within one to two days the oxygen levels in your body will improve. Your blood pressure reduces, which in turn decreases the overall stress on your body. All these things are good defences against coronavirus.