River Oaks Examiner - News
Great American Smokeout
Here’s how to save about $1,400 a year in the current economy. Quit smoking.
For pack-a-day smokers, that daily habit averages about $4, which adds up to a chunk of change, and that doesn’t count health care costs.
Quitting smoking is not easy, and there are many ways to quit, or at least try to quit. Today is the annual Great American Smokeout, which urges people to quit for a day, and maybe a lifetime.
The American Cancer Society offers the following tips to help smokers get through a day without smoking:
Prepare for life as a nonsmoker by removing all cigarette-related materials (ashtrays, cigarettes and cigarette butts, matches you use for lighting up, etc.) from your home and office. It will help avoid temptation.
Prepare for patience. Smoking urges are worst in the first two weeks. After that they are most likely to recur in situations associated with smoking, such as after dinner or in the car.
Learn the four “Ds.”
Deep breaths.
Do something else to distract yourself from the craving, such as calling a friend or going for a walk, or even chewing on a carrot
Drink a lot of water during the day, especially during a craving.
Delay reaching for a cigarette. The craving will pass.
Try to avoid situations that encourage smoking. If you can’t, practice telling people you've just quit or that you're a non-smoker.
Change your routines. If you always light up when you have a coffee, drink tea or juice instead. If you always smoked while watching the evening news, read the paper.
Use the many tools available. Nicotine patches, gum, and lozenges are available over the counter; a nicotine nasal spray and inhaler and a smoking-cessation medication are available by prescription; and toll-free help lines, such as 1-800-ACS-2345, and even online support are available.
Most smokers have to try several methods before they succeed in quitting, so keep trying until you find what works for you.
For more information, call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.
U.S. smoking stats
One in four teenagers is a smoker.
One in five adults is a smoker.
30 percent of cancer deaths and 87 percent of lunch cancer deaths are related to tobacco use.
13,840 Texans will learn they have lunch cancer this year and 9,890 will succumb to the disease.
Source: American Cancer Society
Feel better soon
To help encourage smokers to stick with quitting and get through those cravings to light up, American Cancer Society has noted these healthy changes that start happening, some of them quite quickly.
Within the first 20 minutes of quitting:
Blood pressure drops.
Increased circulation warms hands and feet.
Heart rate goes down.
In 12 hours:
Carbon monoxide levels in blood drop to normal.
In 24 hours:
Chance of having a heart attack begins to drop.
In 48 hours:
Sense of taste and smell improve.
Two weeks to three months after quitting:
Circulation continues to improve.
Lung function increases as much as 30 percent.
One to nine months after quitting:
Coughing, fatigue, sinus congestion and shortness of breath decrease.
Cilia regain normal function in lungs, reducing the risk of infection.
One year after quitting:
Excess risk of heart attack and death from heart disease is cut in half.
Five to 15 years after quitting:
Risk of stroke is reduced to that of a non-smoker.
15 years after quitting:
Risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker’s.
Other benefits of quitting:
Your clothes won’t smell like smoke.
Helps stop the premature wrinkling of your skin.
Food tastes better.
Your sense of smell returns to normal.
Smokers who quit by age 50 have cut their risk of premature death in half, compared to continuing smokers.
For pack-a-day smokers, that daily habit averages about $4, which adds up to a chunk of change, and that doesn’t count health care costs.
Quitting smoking is not easy, and there are many ways to quit, or at least try to quit. Today is the annual Great American Smokeout, which urges people to quit for a day, and maybe a lifetime.
The American Cancer Society offers the following tips to help smokers get through a day without smoking:
Prepare for life as a nonsmoker by removing all cigarette-related materials (ashtrays, cigarettes and cigarette butts, matches you use for lighting up, etc.) from your home and office. It will help avoid temptation.
Prepare for patience. Smoking urges are worst in the first two weeks. After that they are most likely to recur in situations associated with smoking, such as after dinner or in the car.
Learn the four “Ds.”
Deep breaths.
Do something else to distract yourself from the craving, such as calling a friend or going for a walk, or even chewing on a carrot
Drink a lot of water during the day, especially during a craving.
Delay reaching for a cigarette. The craving will pass.
Try to avoid situations that encourage smoking. If you can’t, practice telling people you've just quit or that you're a non-smoker.
Change your routines. If you always light up when you have a coffee, drink tea or juice instead. If you always smoked while watching the evening news, read the paper.
Use the many tools available. Nicotine patches, gum, and lozenges are available over the counter; a nicotine nasal spray and inhaler and a smoking-cessation medication are available by prescription; and toll-free help lines, such as 1-800-ACS-2345, and even online support are available.
Most smokers have to try several methods before they succeed in quitting, so keep trying until you find what works for you.
For more information, call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.
U.S. smoking stats
One in four teenagers is a smoker.
One in five adults is a smoker.
30 percent of cancer deaths and 87 percent of lunch cancer deaths are related to tobacco use.
13,840 Texans will learn they have lunch cancer this year and 9,890 will succumb to the disease.
Source: American Cancer Society
Feel better soon
To help encourage smokers to stick with quitting and get through those cravings to light up, American Cancer Society has noted these healthy changes that start happening, some of them quite quickly.
Within the first 20 minutes of quitting:
Blood pressure drops.
Increased circulation warms hands and feet.
Heart rate goes down.
In 12 hours:
Carbon monoxide levels in blood drop to normal.
In 24 hours:
Chance of having a heart attack begins to drop.
In 48 hours:
Sense of taste and smell improve.
Two weeks to three months after quitting:
Circulation continues to improve.
Lung function increases as much as 30 percent.
One to nine months after quitting:
Coughing, fatigue, sinus congestion and shortness of breath decrease.
Cilia regain normal function in lungs, reducing the risk of infection.
One year after quitting:
Excess risk of heart attack and death from heart disease is cut in half.
Five to 15 years after quitting:
Risk of stroke is reduced to that of a non-smoker.
15 years after quitting:
Risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker’s.
Other benefits of quitting:
Your clothes won’t smell like smoke.
Helps stop the premature wrinkling of your skin.
Food tastes better.
Your sense of smell returns to normal.
Smokers who quit by age 50 have cut their risk of premature death in half, compared to continuing smokers.
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