According to American Cancer Society, the first 20 minutes after you stop smoking, your blood pressure and heart rate return to normal. The carbon monoxide level in the blood starts to drop. This improves your circulation. The next 24 hours, the risk of developing heart attack drops. Following 48 hours, you can smell and taste better. The mucus in the lung starts to clear up. After 1 year, your risk of coronary heart disease declines by 50% as compared to a smoker. By 10 years, your risk of dying from lung cancer equals that of non-smokers. Your heart disease becomes non-threatening at the end of 15 years. It will be as though you never smoked before. Stop the effects of toxic chemicals building up in your system by deciding NOW to cease smoking cigarettes.

When you quit smoking, you add more years to your life. In 2002, Donald Taylor, an assistant research professor of Duke University conducted a study on how quitting smoking can affect life expectancy. Surprisingly, he found that when 65-year old female smokers quit, their life expectancy increased to almost four years. Those who give up smoking at 35 years old could live longer by up to eight and one-half years. If you like to know how smoking affects your life span, check this interactive tool at

Even though your family members or friends don't smoke, the passive smoking can endanger their health. Experts agree that second hand smoke can cause cancer. A study showed that non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke faced a higher risk of lung cancer by 18 to 32 percent than those not exposed. The risks increases in proportion to the duration of exposure. Think about it, if you stop smoking now, you can save the lives of your family.

Saving money may be the right kind of motivation for you. Calculate how much you can save in a year. With that savings, reward yourself with something special such as a vacation. Don't let your money go up in smoke.

Being addicted to nicotine puts you out of control of your life. The effect of nicotine binds your freedom. By giving up smoking, you can be free from nicotine. If you smoke heavily, you may need help such as nicotine replacement therapy and Zyban to end your addiction.

Don't pass up these favorable effects of quitting smoking. Find one good reason to say no to tobacco products. Consult your doctor for smoking cessation programs that can help you to get rid of this smoking habit.