Information for Smokers

Quitting smoking isn't easy, but it can be done - more than 41 million Americans have stopped - and it could be the most important thing you'll ever do for your health.

Health Benefits of Quitting

• People who quit smoking live longer than those who continue to smoke.
• Quitting smoking decreases the risk of man diseases, including lung and other cancers, heart disease, stroke, ulcers, chronic lung diseases, and respiratory illness.
• Your body begins to heal itself rapidly when you quit smoking. Levels of carbon monoxide and nicotine decline, sense of taste and smell improve, and breathing becomes easier, all within 72 hours.
• Women who quit smoking before becoming pregnant or within the first 3-4 months of pregnancy reduce the risk of giving birth to premature and/ or low birth rate infants.

Books

There are many good books about smoking and smoking cessation. Check your local bookstore and library. Here are just a few examples:

• The No-Nag, No-Guilt, Do-It-Your-Own-Way Guide to Quitting Smoking, by Tom Ferguson, M.D.
• I'll Quit Tomorrow, by Vernon Johnson
• Smoking for Two: Cigarettes and Pregnancy, by Peter A. Fried

Smoking Facts

• Smoking kills more people every year than heroin, cocaine, alcohol, AIDS, fires, suicide and automobile accidents combined!
• Nine out of ten smokers say they would like to quit if they could find a way of doing so.
• The average weight gain among people who quit smoking is only 3-5 lbs.
• The economic cost of a lifetime of smoking is staggering. At $2.00/pack, a pack a day smoker will spend $29,200 over 40 years, just for cigarettes. At two packs a day, the total would be $58,400 over the same time period. Increased health care costs and lower productivity are additional hidden costs.

• Don't be discouraged if your first attempts to quit aren't successful. Many smokers have to try several times before quitting permanently.
• No one approach is right for everyone. Experiment with different ones until you find the one that works for you.
• Set a quit date and stick to it. Try to choose a time where outside stresses will be minimized.
• Add walking or other exercise to your daily routine.
• Eat regular meals to keep your blood sugar even. Hunger may increase the urge to smoke.
• Avoid or limit sugar, alcohol and caffeine, which can also increase the urge to smoke. Drink lots of water.
• When the urge to smoke comes, breathe deeply for a few minutes.
• Put the money you would have spent on cigarettes in a jar each day you don't smoke, and use that money to buy a reward for yourself.
• Enjoy being a nonsmoker!

This guide neither recommends nor endorses any specific resource on this list. Information is provided as a service and consumers are urged to make their own judgments.

Last Reviewed 2005

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Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.