Why should I stop smoking?
- No matter your age or how long you’ve been a smoker, quitting can help you be healthier and live longe
- 20 minutes after you quit smoking your blood pressure and pulse rates drop, and the temperature of your hands and feet increase;
- 12 hours after you quit smoking your blood’s carbon monoxide level drops and the oxygen level in your blood increases to normal levels;
- 24 hours after you quit smoking your chances of having a heart attack decreases;
- 48 hours after you quit smoking your nerve endings start to regenerate, your ability to smell and taste becomes enhanced, and walking & respiration becomes easier;
- 72 hours after you quit smoking, cilia begins to regrow in your lungs (which handles mucus and your ability to sweep debris away from lung & nasal cavities), thereby reducing your risk of infection;
- 2 weeks to 3 months after you quit smoking your circulation improves and your lung function increases by 30%;
- 1 to 9 months after you quit smoking coughing and sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease.
Facts about smoking:
In the US alone, smoking is responsible for nearly 1 in 5 deaths, and about 8.6 million people suffer from smoking-related lung and heart diseases.
Nearly everyone knows that smoking can cause lung cancer, but few realize it’s also a risk factor for many other types of cancer too: including cancer of the mouth, voice box (larynx), throat (pharynx), esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, cervix, stomach, and some leukemias.
Smokers are twice as likely to die from heart attacks as are non-smokers, and smoking is a major risk factor for peripheral vascular disease (narrowing of the vessels that carry blood to your legs and arms). Smoking also affects the walls of the vessels that carry blood to your brain (the carotid arteries), which can cause strokes.
Men who smoke are more likely to develop erectile dysfunction, and women who smoke are more likely to miscarry or deliver a lower birth-weight baby.
Smoking causes an increased risk of macular degeneration, one of the most common causes of blindness in older people. It also causes premature wrinkling of the skin, bad breath, gum and tooth problems and yellowing of the fingernails.
Smoking increases your risk of getting pneumonia and lung diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. These diseases are termed COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) – that causes chronic illness and disability, and worsens over time – and can be fatal. Long-term smokers have the highest risk of developing severe COPD.
Lastly, did you know that after one year of not smoking, your risk of coronary heart disease drops to half of that of a person who continues to smoke?
Our knowledgeable Physicians and supportive staff are ready to advise you regarding smoking cessation.
