Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The Plain Hard Facts of Smoking






(Source:American Cancer Society)


Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States.

Each year 443,000 premature deaths and 49,400 non- smokers die as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke.

It turns out that more than 70 percent of adult smokers say they want to quit, but without help, fewer than 5 percent succeed.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the annual cost of tobacco use to an employer averages $3,783 per smoker per year.


Benefits of Quitting Smoking


  • 20 minutes after quitting your heart rate and blood pressure drops.

  • 12 hours after quitting the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.

  • 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting your circulation improves and your lung function increases.

  • 1 to 9 months after quitting coughing and shortness of breath decrease.

  • 1 year after quitting the excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker.

  • 5 to 15 years after quitting your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker.

  • 10 years after quitting the lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decreases.

  • 15 years after quitting the risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker.

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