You know it makes sense to stop smoking - but you need the motivation to kickstart your campaign to quit.

How about this? According to ASH, every year 120,000 people in the UK die from smoking-related illness. ThatÂ’s 330 people a day - the equivalent of a plane crash with no survivors.

Now that the new year is here, why not make 2007 the year that you finally quit - for good?

1. Health effects

Smoking affects every aspect of your health. The main cause of death is cardiovascular disease, but smoking increases your chances of a stroke or heart attack and of developing cancer, bronchitis, lung disease, diabetes and high blood pressure - to name a few conditions.

The effects of smoking are none too pleasant, either: earlier onset of menopause, poor circulation, wheezing and shortness of breath, low energy levels and poor concentration.

The benefits of giving up are immeasurable, but within a few days youÂ’ll be able to breathe more easily, have more energy, and be able to smell and taste more vividly.

In the mid term, your heart and lung function will be 50 per cent better than that of a smoker. In the long term you extend your life expectancy by 25 per cent.

2. Children are the future

If you smoke, the chance of conceiving falls by up to 40 per cent per cycle. Smoking also affects male fertility. It reduces the quality and density of semen, and evidence suggests that smoking can cause male impotence.

If you smoke during your pregnancy, you are more likely to have serious complications during your pregnancy. At birth, your child can weigh up to 200g (8oz) less if you smoke - and low birth-weight is associated with a higher risk of disease and death in infancy and childhood.

If you donÂ’t plan on having children right now, you still need to pay attention: women smokers who take the contraceptive pill are up to 20 times more at risk of heart attack than non-smokers.

If you give up smoking, you give yourself, your partner and your children the best possible chance for a healthy pregnancy and beyond.

3. Smoking and mental health

Smokers often use smoking as a way of coping with stress. However, studies suggest that daily smoking increases significantly the risk of major depression.

Find new ways to help alleviate the black moods - improving your diet and exercise regime and looking at the factors that make you stressed can all help.

4. The myth of weight loss

If you smoke to lose weight, think again. While nicotine can help you to lose weight in the short term, over time smokers develop a thicker waistline. This is because smoking affects the adrenal glands, which causes the body to move its weight to other areas, creating a 'pear' shape.

Forget those 20-per-day stick-thin models. Try alternative methods for weight loss - and be happy in the knowledge that your improved waistline doesnÂ’t mean sacrificing your health.

5. Beauty is skin deep

If you smoke, you are much less attractive to other people. Side effects include stained fingers and teeth, bad breath, smelly clothes, increased facial hair, premature wrinkling and rougher skin. Smoke has a drying effect on the surface of the skin.

It also restricts blood flow to the skin and produces an enzyme that breaks down collagen, which maintains skin elasticity. Smoking can age your looks by up to 20 years.

Give up smoking and the elasticity and colour in your skin will improve. You will also have fresher breath, clothes and hair, and cleaner hands and nails - and you will glow with the confidence of knowing how you did it!

6. Burning a hole in your pocket

According to ASH, at today's rates, a 20-a-day smoker will spend over £30,000 over the next 20 years on cigarettes. Think of the ways you might have used that money: on holidays, paying off your mortgage, pursuing your dreams, and on your children and their education.

Stop smoking and start planning ahead for how you can better use all that cash!

7. Addictive lifestyle

Do you think you have smoking under control? Think again: smoking controls you. The more you smoke, the more you crave, the more you smoke, making you increasingly dependent. This means that until you satisfy your need for a cigarette, you will find it impossible to finish conversations or concentrate on work for any length of time.

If you give up smoking, youÂ’ll finally be your own person again. YouÂ’ll be able to make decisions and have conversations without being constantly distracted by the next fix.

8. Social outcast

As a smoker, it is increasingly difficult to work or socialise and smoke at the same time. It is already banned from public transport, cinemas, theatres and public buildings - and by mid-2007 in virtually all workplaces too.

Soon, the only place where you can smoke will be your home, and even there you may be putting someone else at risk from passive smoking or fire.

Give up smoking and youÂ’ll be free from the nagging of friends and family and public disapproval. YouÂ’ll also be able to work, shop and socialise without worrying about where you can light up.

9. Ethical issues

If you smoke, you affect people on the other side of the world. The big tobacco companies in the USA and Britain are responsible for spreading the habit to the developing world.

Every new market is accompanied by intense advertising to the poorest people. Tobacco companies strengthen their foothold by building schools and hospitals, making it hard for developing nations to resist their influence.

By 2030, a projected seven million people in developing countries will be killed every year by tobacco.

One person can make a difference! By not smoking you take one small step towards dismantling the stranglehold of the big tobacco companies.

10. Environmental impact

The environmental impact of smoking may not be your first consideration, but it is so important! Three-quarters of the world's tobacco is grown in developing countries. The environmental considerations associated with tobacco production are deforestation, erosion and desertification.

By giving up smoking, you help to make the world a more beautiful and sustainable place for everyone to live in.