In the 1920's, smoking cigarettes became a popular trend. If a man wanted to seem tough and manly, he would be seen smoking cigarettes. Same for women. If a woman wanted to be seen as elegant and classy, she would be smoking a cigarette. Cigarettes used to be treated as an essential need and the government would ship packages filled with cigarettes to the men overseas fighting in the Great War. Thanks to propaganda and commercials, smoking cigarettes were the cool thing to do. And back then, they didn't take into consideration what could happen to your health. Even pregnant women were smoking and would smoke around their kids. Not until the 1950's did reports come out about how smoking causes damages to your body But that did not stop people from smoking.

We are now in the year 2018. Even though the average of people smoking has dropped drastically, we still have people who do smoke and on the regular. I think we should start making a healthier and more economical choice of not smoking anymore. There are plenty of reasons to why we should stop smoking. Here are two:

1. Health Benefits

The moment you stop smoking your body starts healing itself. Even if you don't smoke all the time, the chemicals of tobacco reach your lungs very quickly everytime you inhale. And then the toxins get carried around by your blood and it reaches other organs. Once you stop smoking, your body goes into healing mode. Coughing and shortness of breath decreases, risks of heart attacks begin to drop, and lung functions start to improve. Risks of mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder cancers begin to drop. If you quit smoking before the age of 40, you can reduce your chances of dying early from smoking-related diseases by about 90 percent. You will also protect your loved ones from feeling the effects of second-hand smoke effect. There are so many health benefits from quitting. Why would you want to risk your whole body for a measly cigarette that can cause you harm?

2. Financial Benefits.

In the state of Florida, the average price for a pack of cigarettes is $6.29, so the cost over one year would be about $2,296. Imagine all the money you are smoking away. You can be saving it towards a vacation or a down payment for a car or a home. And if you smoke around three packs a day, you are spending around $7,000 a year. With the way the economy is going, we can't just be throwing money down the drain. You can do so much more with your money than smoke.

I know these are only two reasons to help convince you to stop smoking, but I think you shouldn't need more to convince you. Smoking is a rough and expensive habit. It takes a toll on your body and wallet. We should all be aiming to live a healthy, wealthy, and smoke-free lifestyle.