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OK,
so you know that smoking isn’t good for you, and you may have tried to
quit in the past. Despite all the known health consequences of smoking,
we know it’s hard to quit bad habits. But there is no safe amount of smoking.
You owe it to yourself to quit now. Quitting smoking is beneficial at
any age – you can do it!
Here is more information
about exactly why smoking is dangerous to your health and how you can
become a non-smoker.
If you are not a smoker,
this information is still important, especially if you live with a smoker
or work in an environment where smoking is prevalent.
Smoking:
the No. 1 cause of preventable disease and death
Smoking and tobacco use are significant risk factors for a variety of
chronic disorders. According to the American Heart Association, cigarette
smoking is the most important preventable cause of premature death in
the United States, accounting for 440,000 of the more than 2.4 million
annual deaths.
Source: Cigarette
Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease
Women and smoking
Prevalence
According to the Surgeon General, the decline in smoking rates among adult
women stalled in the 1990s, while at the same time, rates were rising
steeply among teenaged girls, blunting earlier progress.
The prevalence of
women age 18 and older who smoke is 20.7 percent in the United States.
Smoking prevalence was highest among American Indian or Alaska Native
women, intermediate among white women and black women, and lowest among
Hispanic women and Asian or Pacific Islander women.
Smoking rates among white women, age 18 to 24, from families with lower
education levels are substantially higher (61 percent) than smoking rates
among black and Mexican-American youths (35 percent) from families with
similar education levels. Smoking rates among women with less than a high
school education are three times higher than for college graduates.
Teenaged girls
who smoke
Nearly all women who smoke started as teenagers - and 30 percent of high
school senior girls are still current smokers. In 2000, 29.7 percent of
high school senior girls reported having smoked within the past 30 days.
Adolescent girls who smoke have reduced rates of lung growth, which contributes
to a number of health problems into adulthood.
Increased
risk of premature death
Since 1980, approximately 3 million U.S. women have died prematurely from
smoking related causes due to cancer, cardiovascular, respiratory, and
pediatric diseases, as well as cigarette-caused burns. Each year during
the 1990s, U.S. women lost an estimated 2.1 million years of life due
to these smoking-attributable premature deaths. Additionally, women who
smoke experience gender-specific health consequences, including increased
risk of problems related to pregnancy and fertility.
Smoking and
fertility
Women who smoke have increased risks for conception delay and for both
primary and secondary infertility.
Smoking during
pregnancy
Smoking during pregnancy remains a major public health problem. Even though
the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy has declined steadily in recent
years, there are still substantial numbers of pregnant women who continue
to smoke (12.9 percent to as high as 22 percent, according to numbers
reported by the Surgeon General in 1998). About one-third of women who
stop smoking during pregnancy are still nonsmokers one year after the
delivery.
Smoking during pregnancy
affects you and your baby's health before, during, and after your baby
is born. The nicotine, carbon monoxide, and numerous other poisons you
inhale from a cigarette are carried through your bloodstream and go directly
to your baby. Smoking while pregnant will:
- Lower the amount
of oxygen available to you and your growing baby
- Increase your baby's
heart rate
- Increase the chances
of miscarriage and stillbirth
- Increase the risk
that your baby is born prematurely and/or born with low birth weight
- Increase your baby's
risk of developing respiratory problems
The more cigarettes
you smoke per day, the greater your baby's chances of developing these
and other health problems. There is no "safe" level of smoking
for your baby's health. If you continue to smoke after your baby is born,
you increase his or her chance of developing certain illnesses and problems,
such as:
- Frequent colds
- Bronchitis and
pneumonia
- Asthma
- Chronic coughs
- Ear infections
- High blood pressure
- Learning and behavior
problems later in childhood
Smoking and
menopause
Women who smoke are younger at natural menopause than non-smokers and
may experience more menopausal symptoms. This is significant since menopause
dramatically increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Postmenopausal women who currently smoke have lower bone density than
do women who do not smoke. In addition, postmenopausal women who currently
smoke have an increased risk for hip fracture compared with nonsmoking
postmenopausal women.
Source: Women
and Smoking, A Report of the Surgeon General
What’s
the link between smoking and cardiovascular disease?
Smoking is a major cause of atherosclerosis - a buildup of fatty substances
in the arteries. Atherosclerosis occurs when the normal lining of the
arteries deteriorates, the walls of the arteries thicken and deposits
of fat and plaque block the flow of blood through the arteries.
In coronary artery disease, the arteries that supply blood to the heart
become severely narrowed, decreasing the supply of oxygen-rich blood to
the heart, especially during times of increased activity. Extra strain
on the heart may result in chest pain (angina pectoris) and other symptoms.
Coronary artery disease can lead to a heart attack.
In peripheral artery disease, atherosclerosis affects the arteries that
carry blood to the arms and legs. As a result, the patient may experience
painful cramping of the leg muscles when walking (a condition called intermittent
claudication). Peripheral artery disease also increases the risk of stroke.
Women who smoke have a greater risk for stroke.
What’s
the link between smoking and heart attack?
Women who smoke are two to six times more likely to suffer a heart attack
than nonsmoking women. (source: Healthy Heart Handbook for Women, US Dept
of Health and Human Services, NIH, 2005; http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/other/hhw/hdbk_wmn.pdf
) According to the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study, just one to four cigarettes
a day can double a woman’s risk of a heart attack.
Your risk of heart attack greatly increases with the number of cigarettes
you smoke. There is no safe amount of smoking. Smokers continue to increase
their risk of heart attack the longer they smoke. People who smoke a pack
of cigarettes a day have more than twice the risk of heart attack than
nonsmokers.
What’s the link between
smoking and oral contraceptives?
Women who smoke and also use oral contraceptives (birth control pills)
increase several times their risk of coronary and peripheral artery diseases,
heart attack and stroke compared with nonsmoking women who use oral contraceptives.
What
other medical conditions are linked with smoking?
Cigarettes have multiple poisons, including addictive nicotine, carbon
monoxide, “tars” and hydrogen cyanide. There are 4,000 other chemicals
of varying toxicity, including 43 known carcinogens. Smoking causes:
- Decreased oxygen
to the heart and to other tissues in the body
- Decreased exercise
tolerance
- Decreased HDL
(good) cholesterol
- Increased blood
pressure and heart rate
- Increased risk
of developing coronary artery disease and heart attack
- Increased risk
of developing peripheral artery disease and stroke
- Increased risk
of developing lung cancer, cervical cancer, throat cancer, chronic asthma,
chronic bronchitis and emphysema
- Lung cancer
kills more women than any other form of cancer each year. The majority
of all lung-cancer deaths among women are smoking-related. Women
over age 35 who smoke are 12 times more likely to die from premature
lung cancer than women who don’t smoke.
- Increased risk
of developing diabetes
- Increased risk
of developing a variety of other conditions including gum disease and
ulcers
- Increase tendency
for blood clotting
- Increased risk
of recurrent coronary artery disease after bypass surgery
- Damage to cells
that line coronary arteries and other blood vessels
- Increased risk
of becoming sick (especially among children: respiratory infections
are more common among children exposed to secondhand smoke)
How
does smoking affect others?
Cigarette smoke doesn’t just affect smokers. When you smoke, the people
around you are at risk for developing health problems, especially children.
Environmental tobacco smoke (also called passive smoke or secondhand smoke)
is the combination of smoke from a burning cigarette and smoke exhaled
by a smoker. The smoke that burns off the end of a cigarette or cigar
contains more harmful substances (tar, carbon monoxide, nicotine, and
others) than the smoke inhaled by the smoker.
Secondhand smoke
can cause chronic respiratory conditions, cancer and heart disease. The
American Heart Association estimates that each year, about 37,000 to 40,000
people die from heart and blood vessel disease caused by other people’s
smoke.
If you are regularly
exposed to second-hand smoke during pregnancy, you increase your and your
baby's risk of developing lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, allergies,
asthma, and other health problems.
Infants born to women
exposed to environmental tobacco smoke during pregnancy have a small incidence
of low birth weight and a slightly increased risk of intrauterine growth
retardation compared to infants of nonexposed women.
Source: Women
and Smoking, A Report of the Surgeon General
Infants exposed to
second-hand smoke might also develop reduced lung capacity and are at
higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
The
benefits of quitting smoking
Now that you know how smoking can be harmful to your health and the health
of those around you, here’s how quitting smoking can be helpful. By quitting
smoking, you will:
- Prolong your life.
According to the American Heart Association, smokers who quit between
ages 35-39 add an average of 6-9 years to their lives. Smokers who quit
at ages 65-69 increase their life expectancy by 1-4 years.
- Reduce your risk
of cardiovascular disease. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of repeat
heart attacks and death from heart disease by 50 percent or more.
- Reduce your risk
of high blood pressure, peripheral artery disease and stroke.
- Reduce your risk
for developing a variety of other conditions including diabetes, lung
cancer, throat cancer, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, chronic asthma,
ulcers, gum disease and many other conditions.
- Feel healthier.
After quitting, you won’t cough as much, have as many sore throats and
you will increase your stamina.
- Look and feel
better. Quitting can help you prevent face wrinkles, get rid of stained
teeth, improve your skin and even get rid of the stale smell in your
clothes and hair.
- Improve your sense
of taste and smell.
- Save money.
How
can I quit?
There’s no one way to quit that works for everyone. To quit smoking, you
must be ready emotionally and mentally. You must also want to quit smoking
for yourself, and not to please your friends or family. Plan ahead.
Before you quit:
(Check off these items as you accomplish them)
Pick a date to stop smoking and stick to it.
Record
your reasons for quitting. Read over the list every day, before and after
quitting.
Write down
when you smoke, why you smoke and what you’re doing when you smoke to
learn your smoking “triggers.”
Stop smoking
in certain situations (such as at your work break or after dinner) before
actually quitting.
Make a
list of activities you can do instead of smoking.
Visualize
yourself as a nonsmoker.
Tell your
family and friends about your plans to quit and ask them for their support.
Ask your family members who smoke to quit with you.
Ask your
health care provider about using smoking cessation aids to help you quit
smoking. Nicotine replacement aids include gum, nicotine patches, inhalers,
sublingual (under-the-tongue) tablets, lozenges, nasal spray or prescription
drugs.
Join a
smoking cessation support group or program. See the section, “Where to
Get Help” on the next page.
When you quit:
Get rid of all cigarettes.
Put away
all smoking-related objects, such as ashtrays.
If you
live with a smoker, ask that person not to smoke in your presence. Better
yet, convince them to quit with you.
Don’t focus
on your cravings. Remember that what you’re feeling is temporary and remind
yourself why you want to quit.
Keep yourself
busy! Review that list of activities you can do instead of smoking.
When you
get the urge to smoke, take a deep breath. Hold it for ten seconds and
release it slowly. Repeat this several times until the urge to smoke is
gone.
Keep your
hands busy. Doodle, play with a pencil or straw, or work on a computer.
Change
activities that were connected to smoking. Take a walk or read a book
instead of taking a cigarette break.
When you
can, avoid places, people and situations associated with smoking. Hang
out with non-smokers or go to places that don’t allow smoking, such as
the movies, museums, shops or libraries.
Don’t substitute
food or sugar-based products for cigarettes. Eat low-calorie, healthy
foods (such as carrot or celery sticks, sugar-free hard candies) or chew
gum when the urge to smoke strikes so you can avoid weight gain.
Drink plenty
of fluids, but limit alcoholic and caffeinated beverages. They can trigger
urges to smoke.
Remind
yourself you are a nonsmoker. Nonsmokers don’t smoke!
Exercise.
Exercising will help you relax.
What Happens
When You Quit
After 20 minutes:
- You stop polluting
the air
- Your blood pressure
and pulse decrease
- The temperature
of your hands and feet increases
After 8 hours
- The carbon monoxide
level in your blood returns to normal
- Oxygen levels in
your blood increase
After 24 hours
- Your risk of heart
attack decreases
After 48 hours
- Nerve endings adjust
to the absence of nicotine
- Your ability to
taste and smell begin to return
After 2 weeks to 3
months
- Your circulation
improves
- Your exercise
tolerance improves
After 1-9 months
- Coughing, sinus
congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease
- Your overall energy
level increases
After 1 year
- Your risk of heart
disease decreases to half that of a current smoker
After 5-15 years
- Your risk of stroke
is reduced to that of people who have never smoked
After 10 years
- Your risk of dying
from lung cancer drops to almost the same rate as a lifelong NON-smoker
- You decrease the
incidence of other cancers – of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, bladder,
kidney and pancreas
After 15 years
- Your risk of heart
disease is reduced to that of people who have never smoked
How
will I feel when I quit?
You may crave cigarettes,
be irritable, feel very hungry, cough often, get headaches, have difficulty
concentrating or experience constipation. These symptoms of withdrawal
occur because your body is used to nicotine, the active addicting agent
within cigarettes.
When withdrawal symptoms
occur within the first two weeks after quitting, stay in control. Think
about your reasons for quitting. Remind yourself that these are signs
that your body is healing and getting used to being without cigarettes.
The withdrawal symptoms
are only temporary. They are strongest when you first quit but will go
away within 10 to 14 days. Remember that withdrawal symptoms are easier
to treat than the major diseases that smoking can cause.
You may still have the desire to smoke. There are many strong associations
with smoking, such as smoking during specific situations, with a variety
of emotions or with certain people in their lives. The best way to overcome
these associations is to experience them without smoking.
If you smoke again
(called a relapse) do not lose hope. Seventy-five percent of those who
quit relapse. Most smokers quit three times before they are successful.
If you relapse, don’t give up! Review the reasons why you wanted to become
a nonsmoker. Plan ahead and think about what you will do next time you
get the urge to smoke.
 Click
here for additional Resources to help you quit smoking
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