Quitting smoking will not only have health benefits but significant financial advantages too
29 May 2014 | Healthcare | General | Graham Anderson, Profmed
Although many smokers may have listed quitting smoking as their new year’s resolution for 2014, many have fallen back into the trappings as they realise how particularly tricky the habit is to kick. To quit smoking is probably almost a permanent feature of any smoker’s list of New Year’s resolutions that are unlikely to be kept. However, kicking this particular habit does not only have to occur at the beginning of the year, in support of World anti-tobacco day on 31 May, a recommitment to quitting could have significant benefits – both for the health of South Africans but for their financial security as well.
This according to Graham Anderson, Principal Officer at Profmed, the medical scheme catering exclusively to graduate professionals who says, "everyone knows that smoking is bad for you. Cigarette boxes proclaim it to smokers themselves who feel the health impacts of their habit. However, while health benefits are more difficult to visualise for potential quitters, many smokers do not think about the financial savings that could be enjoyed by kicking the habit, which could be enjoyed as an immediate consequence of quitting.”
According to Anderson, many medical schemes that focus on healthy living will have incentive and rewards programmes in place that promote non-smoking. "This can translate into higher reward points and, if coupled with the additional saving gained from not buying cigarettes, could result in significant financial gain for ex-smokers,” he says.
As the cost of living for South Africans looks set to increase even further in 2014, Anderson says it’s an excellent opportunity for smokers to reduce unnecessary costs by quitting smoking.
He also says the health benefits should not be overlooked. "Smoking damages the lungs by destroying air sacks. Theses air sacks transfer the oxygen that you breathe into your blood stream and can never be replaced or repaired,” explains Anderson.
Smoking also paralyses the cilia that sweep particles from your airways, so you are less able to get rid of dust, pollen and harmful viruses or bacteria. "As a result, the smoke builds up in the lungs in the form of tar,” he explains.
According to the Heart Foundation, South Africa hosts about seven million smokers, 90% of whom began smoking before the age of 18, and an alarming 20% of whom started before the age of ten – indicating the enormity of the problem in South Africa.
According to Anderson says most of these smokers aren't smoking in isolation, and their second-hand smoke is having an effect on their loved ones and colleagues, all the time.
Anderson explains that second-hand smoking causes many of the same diseases as normal smoking including cancer, long-term respiratory diseases and heart disease.
"Children who inhale second-hand smoke are more likely to contract bronchitis and pneumonia, worse asthma and middle-ear infections. Babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are more likely to be underweight, premature or stillborn,” he says.
According to Anderson, although smokers generally know that smoking is bad for them and those around them, the psychological nature of the addiction makes quitting a huge challenge.
"The socially acceptable nature of this addiction, as well as the belief that smoking calms you, that it helps you concentrate or is some kind of a treat, makes this a very difficult habit to overcome,” explains Anderson.
Anderson therefore recommends following a quit smoking course, participating in some form of therapy such as hypnosis, counselling or joining a support group. He says many medical schemes will provide advice on courses and other solutions to quitting smoking on their websites.
"Making a change to one’s lifestyle, especially when the bad habits have become a natural way of doing things, is especially difficult. However, when one weighs up the positives of a healthier lifestyle and environment and the amount of money one can save from not buying cigarettes, it definitely becomes something worth committing to,” concludes Anderson.
