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Home / Health Resources / How to Quit Smoking

How to Quit Smoking

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Quitting takes hard work and a lot of effort, but you can be tobacco free!

According to the U.S. Surgeon General stopping smoking represents the single most important step that smokers can take to enhance the length and quality of their lives. That’s because smoking and tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and death in the U.S.

Smoking is responsible for nearly one in three cancer deaths and one in five deaths from all causes. Another 8.6 million people live with serious illnesses caused by smoking. However, nearly 42 million Americans still smoke – that’s almost one in five adults.

The programs and resources below are available to help you quit smoking today.

1-800-Quit-Now

Pennsylvania Department of Health has joined other state health departments in offering its residents a free “Quitline.” Pennsylvania’s Quitline, 1-800-Quit-Now (800-784-8669), is offered as a partnership between the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Based on state-of-the-art techniques in tobacco use cessation, the service provides counseling and structured assistance for individuals who are committed to quitting.

The Quitline is staffed by a group of clinically trained counselors. Callers are assessed for their readiness to quit and given counseling options. Counselors then offer up to three pro-active counseling sessions to tobacco users who are ready to make a serious attempt to quit.

When compared with tobacco users who try to quit on their own, tobacco users who make quit attempts with telephone support and self-help advice are approximately twice as likely to attain success.

The free Quitline (1-800-QUIT-NOW) can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All calls are confidential and strict privacy of all information received will be maintained.

Lung Screening Program

Crozer Health offers a Lung Screening Program using low-dose CT scans. The program follows the high-risk inclusion criteria as established by the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial.

Results of a recent landmark National Lung Screening Trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that screenings with a low-dose CT scan can detect lung tumors early and reduce the lung cancer mortality rate by 20 percent for smokers.

For more information about the dates and locations of upcoming sessions and to register, contact a lung navigator at 484-446-3647 or 484-446-3644.

Why Quit Smoking

  • You will live longer and live healthier.
  • The people you live with, especially your children, will be healthier.
  • You will have more energy and breathe easier.
  • You will lower your risk of heart attack, stroke, or cancer.
  • At $6.00 per pack, if you smoke 1 pack a day, you will save $2,190.00 each year.

Five Keys for Quitting

    • Set a quit date and stick to it – not even a single puff!
    • Think about past quit attempts. What worked and what did not.
    • Tell your family, friends, and co-workers you are quitting.
    • Talk to your doctor or other health care provider.
    • Get group, individual, or telephone counseling.
    • When you first try to quit, change your routine.
    • Reduce stress.
    • Distract yourself from urges to use tobacco.
    • Plan something enjoyable to do every day.
    • Drink a lot of water and other fluids.
    • Talk to your healthcare provider about medications.
    • Nicotine patch-available over-the-counter.
    • Nicotine gum-available over-the-counter.
    • Nicotine inhaler-available by prescription.
    • Nicotine nasal spray-available by prescription.
    • Bupropion SR-available by prescription.
    • Varenicline-available by prescription.
    • Avoid alcohol.
    • Be careful around other tobacco users.
    • Improve your mood in ways other than smoking.
    • Eat a healthy diet and stay active.

This is What Happens When You Quit Smoking

Smokers who quit, even for just one day, take a crucial step toward a healthier life with a reduced risk of cancer. Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the U.S. Smoking is responsible for nearly one in three cancer deaths. And another 8.6 million people live with serious illnesses caused by smoking. Despite that, nearly 42 million Americans still smoke cigarettes.

Quitting the addictive habit may seem like an insurmountable feat and the benefits may seem so far down the road. While smokers who quit at a younger age reduce their health risks more, quitting at any age can give back years of life that could be lost by continuing the habit.

Here are all of the benefits you’ll reap from the moment you quit:

  • Less than 20 minutes after your last cigarette, your heart rate and blood pressure will start returning to normal levels. Yes, really.

  • The carbon monoxide levels in your blood drop back to normal.

  • Your lung function increases and your circulation improves.

  • Your coughing and shortness of breath decrease. Your cilia, which are tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs, start to regain normal function in your lungs – that means they have an increased ability to handle mucus, clean your lungs and reduce your risk of infection.

  • Your excess risk of coronary heart disease is now half that of someone who continued smoking.

  • Your risk of cancer of the throat, mouth, esophagus and bladder are now cut in half. For women, the risk of cervical cancer decreases to that of a non-smoker. And your risk of stroke can fall to that of a non-smoker after two to five years of quitting.

  • When you’re cigarette-free for 10 years, your risk of dying from lung cancer is about half that of a person who is still smoking. Your risk of larynx and pancreatic cancer also decreases.

  • Your risk of coronary heart disease is back to that of a non-smoker’s risk.

  • Those aren’t the only benefits to your health each day you go smoke-free. Quitting smoking also lowers your risk of diabetes, helps your heart and lungs, and lets your blood vessels work more efficiently. Plus, your breath will smell better, stained teeth get whiter, the smell in clothes and hair go away, food tastes better, the appearance of yellow fingers and fingernails improve, and everyday activities like climbing stairs won’t get you out of breath.

     
     
     
     
     

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