Contributed by Robert P. Simon, Catalogs.com Info Guru
I don’t really care if you smoke. It’s not my problem. And everybody has to die somehow, right? But if you need a little extra motivation …
Here’s my list of what I would find the top 10 motivators for quitting smoking. I never started smoking, so I don’t have to quit, so maybe I don’t have a clue. But, from a non-smoker’s perspective, these are no-brainers, starting at #10:
10. You can’t sleep
Fun fact: Smokers are four times more likely to report feeling unrested after a night of sleep. Even though your mind is frolicking in LaLa Land, your body is still jones’ing for one more smoke. Isn’t that lovely?
9. It’s cold outside. And lonely.
The rest of us have done a pretty good job of ostracizing you smokers. You can’t smoke at work. You can’t smoke in our apartments. You can’t smoke in restaurants. Really, you can’t smoke inside, period. In most states you can’t even smoke at a bar any more. So if you want a cigarette you better be willing to huddle up on the concrete pad next to the loading dock with what’s left of the rest of your no-longer socially acceptable smoking crew. Puff away.
8. You’re just another sucker
Big tobacco companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year on sophomoric advertising campaigns designed to convince children and vulnerable young adults that an unhealthy, expensive, and filthy addiction is actually cool. Doesn’t it make you feel good to be a part of that demographic?
7. People think you’re neurotic … you ARE neurotic!
You don’t know how and you don’t know when, but at some point in your life you realized that the only way to deal with a problem is by repeatedly sucking on a burning stick of tar, chemicals, and tobacco. Your friends marvel at your composure.
6. Your teeth are turning yellow.
Which is just lovely to look upon. The best part? Nicotine also reduces the effectiveness of caffeine, which means you’re drinking even more coffee. On the bright side, your dentist’s children will have no problems covering college tuition.
5. You’re ruining your clothes.
You smell like a 3AM diner and your favorite shirt has three separate holes from cigarette burns. If you could still smell you wouldn’t even remember the last time you put on a blouse that didn’t reek of cigarettes.
4. You’re going broke.
Average cost of a pack of cigarettes: $5.
Days in one year: 365.
One pack a day, over one year, in dollars: $1,825.
A short list of things you could buy for less than $1,800: A 60” Plasma TV, 4 pairs of Gucci leather shoes, a brand new dishwasher, a show-quality purebred German Shepherd, a top-of-the-line King size mattress.
3. Your apartment smells like a nightclub.
Doesn’t it kind of gross you out to know that your landlord is going to need to paint the walls after you move out just because you smoke?
2. You taste like burning butts.
Do you remember the last time you kissed somebody who wasn’t either a) also a smoker, or b) too drunk to care? Ask them how much they enjoyed licking the inside of an ash tray.
1. You’re going to die.
Lung cancer causes over a million deaths per year. Smoking also increases the likelihood of stroke, heart disease, obesity, Crohn’s disease, and countless other health problems. According to a study conducted at the University of Bristol in England, each cigarette you smoke will cut 11 minutes from your overall life expectancy.
Smoking is gross. It will kill you. Nothing much to debate here. If you need help quitting, there are lots of resources on the Web. Find them.