You can quit!
Nicotine is highly addictive. If you have tried to quit, you know how hard it can be. People who quit smoking or chewing tobacco usually experience physical and psychological withdrawal. Nevertheless--many millions of people have quit using tobacco, and you can, too!
Reap the benefits quickly
Everyone knows your health improves when you quit smoking or chewing tobacco. The good news is how soon that happens:
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20 minutes after quitting: Your blood pressure drops to a level close to what it was before your last cigarette. The temperature of your hands and feet increases to normal.
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Eight hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
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24 hours after quitting: Your chance of a heart attack decreases.
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Two weeks to three months after quitting: Your circulation and lung function improve.
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One to nine months after quitting: Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath go down. Cilia, the tiny, hair-like structures that move mucus out of your lungs and are greatly damaged by smoking, regain normal function, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce infection.
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One year after quitting: Your risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a tobacco user.
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Five years after quitting: Your stroke risk may be that of a non-smoker.
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10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing tobacco user. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases.
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15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease falls to that of a nonsmoker.
Source: US Surgeon Generals Reports, 1988 and 1990
If chewing is your habit ...
You should know that chewing tobacco is not a safe alternative to smoking. There are some very good reasons to quit chewing tobacco:
• Reduce cancer risk: Chewing tobacco contains 28 cancer-causing chemicals. Three-quarters of mouth and throat cancers are caused by tobacco, and they are deadly. Only half of the people diagnosed with such cancers are alive five years later.
• Reduce risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
• Save money: At $3 or more per can, a chewer can save a lot of money by quitting. If a person dips a can a day, that's more than $1,000 per year.
• Brighen your smile: Your teeth and gums will be healthier and your teeth whiter if you don't chew tobacco.
For more information and help:
Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line: Call 1-800-Quit-Now (1-800-784-8669) toll-free as an easy way to get help quitting for yourself or someone you love.
UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention:
http://www.ctri.wisc.edu/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking
