To quit smoking: a challenge that requires more than "just" willpower

By Laura TomassiniLex Kleren Switch to German for original article

Quitting smoking is a difficult task for many people. Some manage it overnight, others need several attempts and are still not on the winning side afterwards. A few testimonials.

Smoking costs you between twelve and 14 years of your life. According to international calculations, the mortality risk of smokers is up to 30 per cent higher than that of people who have never smoked. However, this is no reason for the former not to say goodbye to tobacco at some point, as every year that the body is not exposed to the harmful ingredients of cigarettes is a gain for one's own health. According to a recent study by the University of Toronto, people who stop smoking before the age of 40 live on average almost as long as non-smokers.

No matter at what age you quit, you gain up to six years of life in just three years of not smoking, according to the results from Canada. Although some lung damage remains even after quitting smoking, life expectancy and, above all, quality of life increases with every year spent smoke-free, because tobacco and nicotine consumption not only often result in cancer, but also lead to vascular diseases, respiratory problems and other illnesses that are among the top causes of death worldwide. Smokers aged between 40 and 79 in particular should therefore beware, as their risk of death triples with every puff of the cigarette.

Poison for the body

This is one of many reasons why many people try to quit smoking at some point. One of them is Flëpp, 44 years old and an absolute chain smoker for 30 years. He lit his first cigarette at the age of 14, followed by smoking pot at 16, mainly via a water pipe called a bong. "In my 'best' years, I smoked an average of 40 bongs a day. As far as tobacco consumption was concerned, it peaked at three 20-packs a day for years, " says Flëpp. Like most people, he started smoking as a teenager out of stupidity, because it was "in" to light up a fag and he wanted to be cool.

In 2020, his health came back to bite him: Flëpp noticed his first breathing problems and went for a lung scan. The diagnosis: pulmonary emphysema with a bubble on the left side, meaning Flëpp's alveoli are severely and irreversibly damaged; the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide is difficult as the resulting bubble or hyperinflation hinders this. "50 per cent of my left lung is gone and on the right side it's already 30 per cent, " explains the 44-year-old.

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