I Quit Smoking For Good Ten Years Ago—Here’s How I Did It

Trying to get pregnant? Quitting smoking can help. “If you’re planning to get pregnant, quitting increases the chances of getting pregnant and having a healthy pregnancy,” adds Dr. Rubinstein. “For men, quitting decreases the risk of impotence down the road.”

While many people smoke to relax, people actually report improvements in mental health after quitting, says Dr. Rubinstein. “Believe it or not, a few months after people quit, people report decreased anxiety and decreased depression,” he tells Glamour.

Indeed, according to 2023 Oxford University study, quitting smoking is associated with significant improvements in anxiety and depression among people with and without psychiatric disorders, proving that, at the very least, quitting will not worsen mental health symptom—which is a valid concern many smokers who do so out of stress or anxiety—and will likely improve them over time.

And of course, quitting will inevitably save you money. How much, exactly? Well, that depends on how much you smoke and where you live, but if you lived in New York state and smoked one pack a day, quitting would would save you $480 a month, $5,840 a year, and $87,434 over the course of 10 years, according to data from SmokeFree.Gov.

How to quit smoking

Now that you’re hopefully feeling inspired to quit, here’s how to start the process.

Start small.

Before anything, be sure not to overload your plate with aspirations and goals before you even begin. “A lot of of people make too many plans for January first: I’m going to get fit, quit smoking, and change my job. It’s too much and can be overwhelming,” Dr. Rubinstein explains. “Pick one big thing like quitting smoking, that’s the best thing for your health.”

Of course, this can be supplemented by smaller related goals, like stretching, or or going on more walks. But over all, pick one big goal, like quitting smoking, and stick to just that.

Make a list of reasons you’re quitting, and keep then in mind.

The first thing to do when quitting smoking is identify your “why” and if you don’t yet have one, figure it out. “This is the time to pull out the paper pen and start writing, ‘why do I want to quit smoking?’ and list everything,” says Dr. Smith, and Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist in New York and Washington, D.C. and author of Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days, says the same.