The Great American Smokeout

Smoking is one of the worst health habits Americans have. Before cigarettes became common, lung cancer was a rare cancer, but with the popularity of cigarettes, it became one of the most common. Even women showed a marked increase in lung cancer.

And today, the American Cancer Society says tobacco use is the largest preventable cause of disease and premature death.

The American Cancer Society has set the third Thursday of November as an annual date to help people stop smoking. It is estimated 42 million Americans still smoke cigarettes (about 1 in 5). In 2012, 13.4 million smoked cigars, and 2.3 million smoked pipes. These, like cigarettes, are still dangerous and addictive forms of tobacco use.

But quitting tobacco even if you have been a long time smoker, has major benefits, which start immediately after stopping, and can give you back years of life.

The American Cancer Society publishes these facts:
• Stopping for 20 minutes causes both heart rate and blood pressure to lower.
• In 12 hours, carbon monoxide levels drop.
• In 2 weeks to 3 months, circulation and lung function both improve.
• After 1 to 9 months, cough decreases and shortness of breath improves.
• Stopping for 1 year lowers your risk of coronary heart disease by one half.
• In 5 years, cancers of mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder are cut in half.
• Cervical cancer risk decreases to that of a non-smoker, as does stroke risk.
• After 10 years, your risk of dying from lung cancer is one half that of a smoker.
• By 15 years, your risk of coronary heart disease is the same as a non-smoker.

But it is hard to quit. Nicotine is a powerful addiction. Both the American Cancer Society and the CDC (Center for Diseases Control and Prevention) have helpful programs.

Resources from the American Cancer Society include: a guide to quit, benefits to quitting, desk top helpers, blogs on tobacco and smoking, a “Quit for Life” App from Alere Wellbeing for I-phones and Androids, and others.

The CDC provides Counselors, Quit Plans, Self Help plans, Latest information on medicines to help quit. These include patches, gum, nasal sprays, inhalers, lozenges, and pills. Most require prescriptions from your doctor.
For addition materials to quit, visit smokefree.gov, women.smokefree.gov, teen.smokefree.gov, or if a Spanish reference is needed espanol.smokefree.gov. CDC phone numbers are 1-800-232-4636 or 1-888-232-6348.

Quitting is hard, but help is available, and everyone is pulling for you.