5 Reasons To Quit Smoking When In Manila
With all cigarette packets sold in the Philippines having to carry graphic health warnings in the future, now might be the perfect time to review your tobacco smoking habit. To give you some added motivation, here are 5 good reasons why you should quit smoking when in Manila (or elsewhere, really).
5 Reasons to Quit Smoking When in Manila
1.      Everything will taste better.
When In Manila is filled with stories about amazing food and drinks, but what good is trying the best sisig in Manila, wonderful Hineleban coffee, or the most mouthwatering steaks in town if you can only taste half of the flavors? The chemicals in cigarettes seriously affect a person’s sense of smell and taste. As an ex-smoker myself, I guarantee you that a whole new world of flavors will open up to you the moment you stop smoking. Everything just tastes so much better without the constant tobacco flavor overpowering the taste of your food and drink, and without all of the different toxins in cigarettes numbing your senses.
 2.       You will have more energy to do things.
Smoking can seriously affect a person’s energy levels. All those chemicals wreak havoc to the human body, often leaving smokers breathless and without much motivation to do even the simplest physical tasks. Kicking the habit will seriously improve your energy levels and I can again assure you of this from personal experience. I turned from a pizza-ordering couch potato into a reasonably fit daily cyclist simply because I suddenly had so much more energy to do things. Go and learn how to surf in Manila, do a Pinatubo crater trek or take up hiking – you will have enough energy for it all as your lungs improve and your whole body is able to function properly again. Â
3.      You will look better.
Smoking seriously affects the way you look. Why spend money on a royal pampering or a Parisian nail spa experience on the one hand, when you’re doing your best to make your skin look wrinkly and your nails brittle on the other? The chemicals in cigarettes make your skin age faster, restrict blood flow, and generally don’t help you look your best. Give up smoking and you will soon notice the difference; so will the people around you when you suddenly look healthier and more vibrant. Don’t worry too much about putting on weight, either. As mentioned above, you will have enough energy to take up physical activities if needed.
 4.      You will have more money.
Smoking can cost a lot of money over time. Assuming you smoke a pack a day, it can cost you PHP2000 or more per month just to buy cigarettes. That’s 2000 pesos going up in smoke, giving you nothing in return apart from nasty-smelling clothes and a bad cough in the morning. Let me put it this way: if you quit now, then you could save enough money to buy a DTC Android smartphone, a Juice Powerbank, and a complete selfie kit to go with it in just 3 months’ time. The sooner you stop, the more money you will save!
5.      It’s the healthy thing to do.
This is what it really boils down to: smoking is unhealthy and, in the cold hard light of the facts, makes little sense. Air pollution in Metro Manila is often at dangerous levels, meaning your lungs are already under a lot of stress every day as it is. Adding to that by deliberately breathing in toxic fumes from cigarettes will only make things worse. In addition, a lot of restaurants, bars and malls don’t allow smoking anymore, which is why groups of smokers are huddled together in designated smoking areas like outcasts now. You also have to brace wind and rain just to pursue your habit during the rainy season, all for something that makes you poorer, worse looking and less healthy. I enjoyed smoking and loved every single cigarette I ever smoked, but I love not smoking even more. You can try switching to e-cigarettes first to soften the blow, but the best way is to really just stop. It will take will power, but the benefits are worth it!
