Smoking Cessation

Smoking Cessation

Smoking causes cancer, breathing problems, heart attacks, and stroke. Secondhand smoke causes asthma and breathing problems.

What are some of the health problems caused by smoking?

Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and diminishes a person’s overall health. Millions of Americans have health problems caused by smoking.

Smoking is a leading cause of cancer and death from cancer. It causes cancers of the lung, oesophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach, and cervix, as well leukaemia .

1. 1.      What are the immediate benefits of quitting smoking?

The immediate health benefits of quitting smoking are substantial:

• Heart rate and blood pressure, which are 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 reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen.)
• Within a few weeks, people who quit smoking have improved circulation, produce less phlegm, and don’t cough or wheeze as often.
• Within several months of quitting, people can expect substantial improvements in lung function (17).
• In addition, people who quit smoking will have an improved sense of smell, and food will taste better.
1. What are the long-term benefits of quitting smoking?

Quitting smoking reduces the risk of cancer and other diseases, such as heart disease and COPD, 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:

• Quitting at age 30: Studies have shown that smokers who quit at about age 30 reduce their chance of dying prematurely from smoking-related diseases by more than 90 percent.
• Quitting at age 50: People who quit at about age 50 reduce their risk of dying prematurely by 50 percent compared with those who continue to smoke.
• Quitting at age 60: Even people who quit at about age 60 or older live longer than those who continue to smoke.

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