I decided that I would like to improve my physical health. One area I need to improve is to quit smoking. My son was just diagnosed with asthma, and my husband just found out that he is in the beginning stages of emphysema. My aunt also passed away from lung cancer. If I did not quit now, I don't think I ever would. I realized that smoking is not good for myself and others around me. I have been smoking for ten years. I knew it was going to be difficult, but I knew it was something that had to be done.
When I was growing up my mother smoked. I always thought it was disgusting. It smelled bad. I never thought I would smoke. Then when I was fourteen years old, the boy I was dating smoked. I thought it was cool, so I tried it. It made me lightheaded and nauseous, but that did not stop me. From that moment on, I smoked. At first, it was one or two cigarettes a day. It finally turned into one pack a day. .
When I decided to quit, I started to do some research on the health hazards. I found out that smoking causes many illnesses. It is a big cause of cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disorders, sexual dysfunction and gum disease. Each day cigarettes contribute to over one thousand deaths from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disorders (Donatelle 374). Smoking related - diseases kill one in ten adults, globally. Every eight seconds, someone dies from tobacco use(Martin). These statistics scare me. I also see first hand how harmful smoking is when my husband is playing with our children. He can only play for a short time before he gets out of breath and has to use his inhaler. I think that is what really made me decide it was time to quit.
My husband is having a very difficult time quitting. I decided that if I quit, maybe that would help him to quit. I looked on the internet for different aids to help me quit. There were thousands of websites that advertised ways to quit smoking.