For those attempting to quit smoking once and for all this month, we hold a lighter up to you. All of those moments of frustration, cravings and mood swings will be well worth it once you're free of the fags.
"It's important to give up smoking because for every day that people continue to smoke beyond their mid-thirties, they lose six hours of life expectancy," said Professor Robert West from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London.
According to ash.org, it accounts for over one-third of respiratory deaths, over one-quarter of cancer deaths, and about one-seventh of cardiovascular disease deaths in the UK.
So should you turn to e-cigarettes? Or should you quit altogether?
"Electronic cigarettes offer an opportunity and a threat," said Professor West. "Clearly if every smoker switched to an e-cigarette, millions of lives would be saved across the world.
"However, that is not what is happening and there is a risk that they could be used as a Trojan horse to undermine our efforts at tobacco control," he added.
"For the individual smoker they are a reasonable option to try in order to stop smoking."
Not convinced? Check out these undeniable facts about smoking...
