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Someone you know, perhaps even you, needs to quit smoking.
They have tried all sorts of things and feel they need more help. Here
are a few resources where you may find some support.
Remember, discuss this issue with your health care provider.
Consider using hypnotherapy, acupuncture, herbs or nicotine replacement
therapy.
You will be amazed at how strong you really are...you
can do this!
Here are some resources:
Reasons to Quit Smoking (Source www.4women.gov)
- 1 year after quitting smoking: you reduce your risk for
heart disease by 50 percent.
- 10 years after quitting smoking: your risk for dying from
lung cancer is about half that of a continuing smoker's; and your risk
of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and
pancreas also decrease.
- 15 years after quitting smoking: your risk of heart disease
is now the same as someone who has never smoked.
- 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting smoking: you have better
circulation and your lung function increases up to 30 percent.
- 20 minutes after quitting smoking: your blood pressure
drops to a level close to that before your last cigarette. The
temperature of your hands and feet increases, returning to normal.
- 24 hours after quitting smoking: your chances of having a
heart attack decrease.
- 5-15 years after quitting smoking: your risk of having a
stroke is the same as someone who has never smoked.
- 8 hours after quitting smoking: the carbon monoxide level
in your blood drops to normal.
- A one pack-a-day smoker, who pays at least $3 per pack, can
expect to save more than $1,000 per year. The cost of cigarettes only
continues to rise, making the financial rewards of quitting even
better.
- If all pregnant women quit smoking, about 4,000 new babies
would not die every year.
- When you quit smoking, you help prevent your children from
smoking.
- In the long term, quitting smoking reduces your risk of
heart disease, stroke, cancer, and lung diseases like emphysema or
bronchitis.
- In the short term, quitting smoking reduces respiratory
problems, dental problems, nervousness and depression, and a tendency
toward health-damaging behavior.
- Mothers who quit smoking during pregnancy, then start
smoking again once their babies are born, increase their children's
chances of developing asthma and raises the risk for Sudden Infant
Death Syndrome (SIDS).
- People who quit, no matter what their age, live longer than
people who continue to smoke.
- Quitting smoking reduces your risk for heart disease.
- Quitting smoking now is one of the most powerful steps you
can take to improve your overall health. Tobacco use is the leading
preventable cause of death in the United States.
- Quitting smoking cleanses your body of harmful substances.
More than 4,000 individual compounds have been identified in tobacco
and tobacco smoke. Among these are about 60 compounds that cause
cancer.
- Quitting smoking could lower the amount of cholesterol in
your blood.
- Quitting smoking during pregnancy lowers the risk of birth
defects to your unborn child.
- Quitting smoking during pregnancy lowers the risk of having
a stillborn baby, a baby born too early or prematurely, or an infant
with low birth weight.
- Quitting smoking during pregnancy reduces health risks for
your unborn child.
- Smoking during and after pregnancy has been linked to
asthma among infants and young children.
- Quitting smoking gets rid of your dependence on a very
powerful substance.
- Did you know that nicotine is as addictive as heroin or
cocaine?
- Quitting smoking helps protect the health of your baby
during pregnancy.
- Quitting smoking helps protect your baby when you're
breastfeeding.
- Women who smoke and breast feed their babies can expose
their infants to harmful chemicals from tobacco.
- Women smokers who use birth control pills have a higher
risk of heart attack and stroke than nonsmokers who use birth control
pills.
- Women who smoke generally experience menopause (stopping of
menstrual periods) earlier.
- Quitting smoking may increase your level of self-confidence
when doing physical activities.
- Quitting smoking protects your heart. Women who smoke are 2
to 6 times more likely to suffer a heart attack, and the risk increases
with the number of cigarettes you smoke each day.
- Smoking and breastfeeding do not mix. Heavy smoking can
reduce a mother's milk supply and can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal
cramps, and diarrhea in her baby.
- Quitting smoking reduces wrinkles and yellow spots on your
fingers, and gives you a better sense of taste and smell.
- Quitting smoking reduces your risk for developing cancer of
the cervix. Quitting smoking reduces your risk for infertility (not
being able to get pregnant), pregnancy problems, earlier onset of
menopause, and osteoporosis (thinning and weakening of bones).
- Quitting smoking substantially decreases the risk of lung,
laryngeal, esophageal, oral, pancreatic, bladder, and cervical cancers.
- Smokers who quit before age 50 have half the risk of dying
in the next 15 years compared to those who continue to smoke.
- Tobacco use by pregnant women has been linked with
increased risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and mental
retardation; secondhand smoke worsens the health of children with
asthma.
- When you quit smoking, you stop hurting those around you.
The secondhand smoke from your cigarettes can make your family and
friends have more colds and asthma attacks. It can also put them at
risk for heart and lung diseases, and even lung cancer.
- When you stop smoking you have fresher and better smelling
clothes, hair, and breath.
- When you stop smoking, you improve your chances for a
longer and healthier life.
- When you stop smoking, you save a lot of money that can be
spent on more important things for yourself and your loved ones. When
you stop smoking, things will taste and smell better.
- When you stop smoking, you'll spend less time, energy, and
money cleaning your curtains, walls, windows, and mirrors. When you
stop smoking, your pets will be happier.
- Did you know that secondhand smoke increases the risk of
lung cancer in dogs? When your home is smoke-free, it will smell much
better.
- 1 to 9 months after quitting smoking: coughing, sinus
congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease and your lungs
start to function better, lowering your risk of lung infections.
- Immediately after quitting smoking: you never again have to
deal with the hassle of leaving your workplace, someone's home, your
own home, a restaurant, or other places to smoke.
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