Smoking is one of the hardest addictions for people to leave behind, but they can increase their odds by using one of today’s best quit smoking apps.
Quit smoking apps can be downloaded and installed on any mobile device and provide the resources you need to avoid lighting up.
Not all quit smoking apps promote the same approaches to quitting smoking, but they all strive to help you quit cigarettes once and for all.
Below, our health and wellness experts have identified the 17 most important benefits of quit smoking apps.
17 Benefits Of Quit Smoking Apps
If they help you leave cigarettes behind then quit smoking apps have provided an immeasurable benefit. Nonetheless, there are myriad secondary benefits that come with quitting smoking that we’ll get into now.
1: A quit smoking app can help you quit once and for all.
Most smokers want to quit. And most have tried at one time or another. Indeed, it is the rare smoker who quits for good on the first try (1). But that does not mean you should stop trying. It may very well be that all you need is the right tool to help you get past that first couple of weeks when temptation, habit, and withdrawal all conspire against you. A smoking app can be that tool.
2: A quit smoking app can prevent future disease.
Smoking is not just a drain on your bank account and the thing that makes your house smell bad, it also opens the door to myriad diseases (2). Lung cancer, emphysema (3), COPD (4), and many more are all waiting impatiently to have their way with the smoker. If you want to prevent your life from becoming a non-stop series of hospitalizations, try a quit smoking app.
3: A quit smoking app can prevent premature death.
Most of those diseases we just mentioned will not only send you to the hospital, they will kill you well before your time. The life expectancy of the average heavy smoker is 8.8 years shorter than that of a non-smoker (5). Even a moderate smoker can expect to live about seven years less. If you enjoy the life you are living and would like to stick around for a while, a quit smoking app can help.
4: A quit smoking app will save you a lot of money in the long run.
The average cost of a pack of cigarettes today is about $8. In some places, it is a lot more than that. If you smoke a pack a day, that adds up to nearly $3,000 per year. And we will not even mention the fact that, right or wrong, insurance companies can charge you up to 50% more for health insurance if you smoke (6). Save money. Get a quit smoking app.
5: A quit smoking app makes your home a healthier place for everyone.
Smokers who live with others, especially kids, are not just jeopardizing their own health, they are jeopardizing the health of everyone else in the home. There is no way to sugar coat it. If you smoke and you live with others, you are endangering their health (7). A quit smoking app can help put an end to that situation.
6: A quit smoking app is free.
Many quit smoking apps are available free of charge, so there is no excuse for not giving one a try. Even if you are not sure you want to quit, you have nothing to lose by downloading a quit smoking app and seeing what it is all about. In fact, download a bunch of different ones and see if there is one that appeals to you. It will not cost you a dime.
7: A quit smoking app is easy to use.
If you have ever tried using a stock market app, you know they can make your head spin. That is not the case with a quit smoking app. The average quit smoking app has a nice clean layout, features intuitive navigation, and is easy to understand. They allow you to set attainable goals, provide encouragement, and give your hands something to do instead of reaching for a cigarette.
8: A quit smoking app can save your lungs.
The biggest victims of smoking are your lungs. You know, those things that provide air to your brain and body. The human lung is the result of millions of years of evolution. But evolution did not account for cigarettes. Even moderate smoking reduces lung function (8) and puts you at risk of developing respiratory problems, including lung cancer. Give your lungs a break. Get a quit smoking app.
9: A quit smoking app can help reduce your risk of heart attack.
Your heart is a muscle. Muscles need oxygen to work. Smoking starves your heart muscle of oxygen and greatly increases the risk that you will have a heart attack. Almost from the day you quit smoking your risk of heart attack begins to decrease. Just two years after quitting, it is the same as someone who never smoked (9).
10: A quit smoking app can help reduce your risk of cancer.
There is a common misconception that smoking only increases the risk of lung cancer. In fact, smokers stand a dramatically increased risk of dying from throat, esophageal, mouth, bladder, brain, cervical cancer, and others as well. Smoking poses an existential threat to virtually every part of your body. A quit smoking app can help reduce your risk of cancer.
11: A quit smoking app can help your taste buds return to normal.
One of the lesser-known side effects of smoking is how it impacts your taste buds (10). Food just does not have the same flavorful pop it does for non-smokers. But that loss of taste does not have to be a permanent condition. A quit smoking app can help your taste buds return to normal in time so you can taste what you have been missing.
12: A quit smoking app significantly reduces the risk of having a stroke.
Cigarette smoke is not just dangerous to your lungs and heart, it is also poison for your brain. Smokers are two to four times as likely to have a stroke as non-smokers or people who have not smoked in at least 10 years (11). A quit smoking app can help you kick the habit and significantly reduce the chance of having a stroke.
13: A quit smoking app can help make you a better driver.
Researchers have discovered that smokers stand an increased risk of being involved in a motor vehicle accident than non-smokers (12). It is believed that the act of smoking while driving serves as a distraction similar to using a mobile phone while driving. So using a quit smoking app to help you stop smoking can make you a safer driver. Just be sure not to use the app while driving!
14: A quit smoking app can help save your eyesight.
Smoking starves the body of oxygen. This increases the risk of heart attack, makes a stroke more likely and increases your risk of developing macular degeneration (13) by a factor of four. But you do not have to go blind from smoking. As soon as you quit, you begin to reduce the odds of giving up your sight to this irreversible condition.
15: A quit smoking app can help prevent acid reflux.
As many as 20% of adults suffer from acid reflux or GERD. Smoking is known to be a contributing factor (14). Acid reflux is more than just heartburn. It can cause precancerous lesions in the esophagus, damage to the voice box, and cause people to awaken in the middle of the night feeling like they are suffocating. Using an app to quit smoking can reduce the odds of developing GERD.
16: A quit smoking app can help your clothes smell better.
Most smokers are not aware of it, but the smell of cigarette smoke infuses their clothes. It is a smell many non-smokers can pick up on immediately, but most smokers are unaware of because, as we just discussed, smoking damages your sense of smell. A quit smoking app can rescue your wardrobe from the stench of cigarettes.
17: A quit smoking app can help you have a better life.
With all of the potential benefits of quitting smoking, it is no exaggeration to say a quit smoking app can be your ticket to a better life. But not just a better experience for you. A better life for your loved ones as well who will not suffer from second-hand smoke and will not have to watch smoking-related illnesses consume you.
Conclusion
Quit smoking apps can help you rid yourself of the scourge of cigarette addiction. As a result you will save money, have more energy, decrease the odds of succumbing to a cigarette-related disease, make your home a better, healthier place to live and relieve loved ones of the burden of dealing with your second-hand smoke.