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Smoking Health Information
LUNG CANCER FACTS
- Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
- Lung cancer causes 30% of all cancer deaths.
- Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer among Caucasians, African-Americans, Asians and Hispanic males.
- Lung cancer will kill more people this year than:
- breast cancer
- prostate cancer
- colon cancer
- liver cancer
- kidney cancer
- melanoma...combined
- Lung cancer will kill three times as many men as prostate cancer this year.
- Lung cancer will kill nearly twice as many women as breast cancer this year.
- Over 50% of new lung cancer cases will be diagnosed at a very late stage—Stage IIIb or IV— and only 5% of them will live for 5 years.
- Myth: After you stop smoking, your lungs go back to normal in 10 years.
- Truth: The lungs never go back to normal. Most former smokers remain at elevated risk.
- Current smokers: 35-40% of new lung cancer cases
- Former smokers: 50% of new lung cancer cases
- Never smoked: 10-15% of new lung cancer cases
BENEFITS OF SMOKING CESSATION
Health benefits are major and immediate, at ALL ages:
| 20 min. |
Blood pressure and pulse return to normal |
| 8 hrs |
Nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in blood reduce by half. Oxygen levels return to normal. |
| 24 hrs |
Carbon monoxide will be eliminated from the body. Lungs start to clear out mucous and other smoking debris. |
| 48 hrs |
Ability to taste and smell is greatly improved. |
| 72 hrs |
Breathing becomes easier. Bronchial tubes begin to relax and energy levels increase. |
| 2-12 weeks |
Circulation improves |
| 3 - 9 months |
Coughs, wheezing and breathing problems improve as lung functions are increased by up to 10% |
| 5 yrs. |
Risk of heart attack falls to about half that of a smoker |
| 10-15 yrs. |
Risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker. Risk of heart attack falls to the same as someone who has never smoked. |
- Quitting decreases the overall risk of death (all causes combined) by 50% in 15 years as compared to continuing smokers
- Cardiovascular Benefits
- Heart Attacks
- The risk of heart attack decreases by 50% within 24 hours of quitting smoking, due to reversal of nicotine's effects on inducing platelet aggregation and vasospasm (in other words, nicotine makes the blood clot and a blood clot in the heart's coronary arteries causes a heart attack)...
After 2 years of abstinence from tobacco, the risk of heart disease is decreased to about the level of never smokers
- Stroke
- The risk of having a stroke or a brain aneurysm (bleeding in the brain) go down by 30-50% in quitters.
BENEFITS TO THE RESIPIRATORY SYSTEM
- Lung Cancer
The risk of lung cancer is decreased by 80-90% after 15+ years of abstinence
There is no known effective method of screening for early lung cancer in former smokers or current smokers.
- Smoker's Cough
Within three months of quitting, the smokers' cough disappears in most people.
- Respiratory Function
Lung capacity declines with age more rapidly in smokers than in non smokers. Quitting smoking does little to restore lost lung function; however, after quitting the decline in lung function tends to parallel that of non smokers. In other words, quitting helps the lungs age slower.
- Quality of life and other benefits of quitting
- Smell and taste improves within days
- Alleviates harm to others from side stream smoke exposure
- Fire prevention
- Increased work productivity
- Improved self esteem ...
- Cost savings:
The expenditure for smoking 1 pack a day approximates the price of a Porsche over a 30 year period!!!
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