Why should I quit smoking? You will live longer and feel better. Quitting will lower your chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or cancer. The people you live with, especially children, will be healthier. If you are pregnant, you will improve your chances of having a healthy baby. And you will have extra money to spend on things other than cigarettes.
What’s the best way to quit? There isn’t a single method that can be applied to all people. Everyone is different, so you must find the method for quitting smoking that works for you. If every method or product worked for everybody, you probably would have quit by now. Some people quit through sheer determination and can quit cold turkey. Other people need classes, drugs, therapy, various products, etc. Whatever works for you and is safe, you should consider and utilize. Let your doctor know you want to quit and ask for his or her assistance. This step alone can help improve your chances for quitting considerably. And don’t worry about failing. Relapse is part of the quitting process. Many people try three or four times before they finally quit for good
What main harmful chemicals are found in cigarette smoke? Cigarette smoke contains about 4,000 chemical agents, including over 60 carcinogens .In addition, many of these substances, such as carbon monoxide, tar, arsenic, and lead,are poisonous and toxic to the human body. Nicotine is a drug that is naturally present inthe tobacco plant and is primarily responsible for a person’s addiction to tobacco products, including cigarettes. During smoking, nicotine is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream and travels to the brain in a matter of seconds. Nicotine causes addiction to cigarettes and other tobacco products that is similar to the addiction produced by using heroin and cocaine
Questions about smoking (FAQ)
I’ve tried to quit before and it didn’t work. What can I do? Remember that most people try to quit at least 2 or 3 times before they are successful. Review your past attempts to quit. Think about what worked–and what didn’t–and try to use yourmost successful strategies again.
What are the immediate benefits of quitting smoking? The immediate health benefits of quitting smoking are substantial. Heart rate and blood pressure, which were abnormally high while smoking, begin to return to normal. Within a few hours, the level of carbon monoxide in the blood begins to decline. (Carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas found in cigarette smoke, reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen.) Within a few weeks, people who quit smoking have improved circulation, don’t produce as much phlegm, and don’t cough or wheeze as often. Within several months of quitting, people can expect significant improvements in lung function.
What are the long-term benefits of quitting smoking? Quitting smoking reduces the risk of cancer and other diseases, such as heart disease and lung disease, caused by smoking. People who quit smoking, regardless of their age, are less likely than those who continue to smoke to die from smoking-related illness. Studies have shown that quitting at about age 30 reduces the chance of dying from smoking-related diseases by more than 90 percent. People who quit at about age 50 reduce their risk of dying prematurely by 50 percent compared with those who continue to smoke . Even people who quit at about age 60 or older live longer than those who continue to smoke
Questions about smoking (FAQ)
What kinds of activities can I do when I feel the urge to smoke?
Talk with someone, go for a walk, drink water, or get busy with a task. Reduce your stress by taking a hot bath, exercising, or reading a book.
I like to smoke when I have a drink. Do I have to give up both? It's best to avoid drinking alcohol for the first 3 months after quitting because drinking lowers your chances of success at quitting. It helps to drink a lot of water and other nonalcoholic drinks when you are trying to quit.
Are “light” cigarettes better than regular ones? Cigarettes are cigarettes. There is no difference. Light cigarettes have tiny holes just where your fingers hold them. So, when you inhale, you get full-strength smoke. When just the end of the filter is inserted into a “smoking machine” to determine the tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide content, the smoke is diluted by air entering through those holes. What's more, people inhale more deeply and more frequently after switching from "regular" to "light" cigarettes, in order to keep the same average level of nicotine in their bloodstream.
How dangerous is second-hand smoke? It is very dangerous. For example, recent studies show that second-hand smoke causes a variety of illnesses in children, such as ear infections, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Smoke in an infant's household quadruples the chances of a SIDS death
Questions about smoking (FAQ)
What can I do get my teen kids to quit? Most young people just cannot understand the health risks involved with smoking. Remember, they are young, and most young people feel immortal. However, you can discourage them from smoking by making smoking seem less hip and cool. For example, stress tobacco's effect on personal attractiveness. Surveys show that teens, whether they smoke or not, are turned off by the bad breath, smelly clothes and hair, and yellow teeth of smokers. Also, you can steer teens toward peer groups that don't smoke. Teens need the approval of their friends. If their best friends aren’t smoking, they are unlikely to take up the habit.
Why do smokers have "smoker's cough"?
Cigarette smoke contains chemicals that irritate the air passages and lungs. When a smoker inhales these substances, the body tries to protect itself by coughing. The well-known "early morning" cough of smokers happens for a different reason. Normally, cilia (tiny hairlike formations lining the airways) beat outward and sweep harmful material out of the lungs. Cigarette smoke, however, decreases the sweeping action, so some of the poisons in the smoke remain in the lungs. When a smoker sleeps, some cilia recover and begin working again. After waking up, the smoker coughs because the lungs are trying to clear away the poisons that built up the previous day. Unfortunately, prolonged exposure to smoke completely destroys the cilia's ability to function. Then the smoker's lungs are even more exposed and susceptible than before, especially to bacteria and viruses in the air.
What are the health risks of smoking pipes or cigars?
Smoking cigars or pipes alone is not a healthy alternative to smoking cigarettes. The risk for lung cancer is higher among smokers who smoke cigarettes and cigars or pipes, and for smokers who switch to cigars or pipes after years of cigarette smoking. Overall cancer deaths among men who smoke cigars are 34% higher than among nonsmokers. Cigars and pipes also release ETS, which is harmful to anyone who breathes it. More information on the health risks of smoking cigars is available in a separate essay entitled Cigar Smoking and Cancer.
Are menthol cigarettes safer than other brands? Menthol cigarettes are not safer than other brands and may even be more dangerous. About 28% of all cigarettes sold in the United States are menthol. About 76% of African American cigarette smokers smoke menthol cigarettes as compared to 23% of whites. These brands contain enough menthol to produce a cool sensation in the throat when smoke is inhaled. People who smoke menthol cigarettes can inhale more deeply or hold the smoke inside longer than smokers of non-menthol cigarettes. This may explain why African Americans, who statistically smoke fewer cigarettes a day (but more menthol cigarettes), are more likely than whites to die from smoking-related diseases like lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke....
