Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. It kills more people than alcohol, drugs, guns, and HIV combined, according to the CDC. Every year there are 438,000 deaths due to smoking. Secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard for people of all ages, causing more than 41,000 deaths each year. Smoking has many negative effects on your health.

Effects on Your Health from Smoking
(source: www.cdc.gov)

• It causes overall diminished health.
• It increases the chance of coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times.
• It increases the chance of stroke by 2 to 4 times.
• It increases the chance of developing lung cancer by 25 times.

Quitting Smoking

Quitting smoking is one of the single best things you can do to greatly improve your overall health. After only a few hours of not smoking, your heart rate and blood pressure decrease close to a normal level. Your blood circulation will also improve. After about a year of quitting smoking, your chances of heart disease decrease by half.

While the benefits of quitting are great, it is a hard process. Up to 70% of adults who smoke regularly want to quit but have not yet.  According to people who have also had drug problems, quitting smoking is as difficult or more difficult than getting off of drugs.  It takes most people several serious attempts at quitting before they are successful.

Quitting Tips

• Have the mindset you are going to quit, and it will take a lot of effort. Knowing and recognizing it will be a difficult process will help you continue on during the times you want to give in.
• Write down the reasons you want to quit and hang them up where you will see the list. Having reasons to quit and knowing those reasons will help motivate you to quit.
• Reach out for help. A quick Google search will bring up thousands of resources, groups, and products that can help you quit. Experiment and find the most effective way that works for you.
• It is never too late for you to quit. The best way to avoid the health risks of smoking and the difficulty of quitting is not to start smoking at all.

To view the UD Tobacco Free policy and find resources to help you to quit smoking, visit Tobacco Free UD (udel.edu).

To view the original article on the web, visit Smoking and Your Health – Safety Talk Ideas.