Nov. 16 is this year’s date for the American Cancer Society’s annual Great American Smokeout, when smokers are encouraged to quit for just one day. About one in five Americans still smoke, but the trend is downward, slowly but surely.
Unfortunately, smoking still kills 440,000 Americans annually — almost one person every minute. The Centers for Disease Control report that 90 percent of people have nicotine in their blood from secondhand smoke. That secondhand smoke causes about 3,000 lung cancer deaths yearly among nonsmokers, although this is an estimate since it is difficult to prove scientifically. Most smoking deaths are from lung cancer, heart disease and chronic lung disease. In fact, more women die each year from smoking-related lung cancer than from breast cancer. Smoking also contributes significantly to cancers of the stomach, bladder, larynx, cervix and breast.
Everyone knows smoking causes lung cancer, but many people do not know that stroke risk is two-and-a-half times higher in smokers. Dementia risk is increased, and it is a major contributor to impotence in men and osteoporosis in women. It doubles the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration, a significant cause of visual loss in older people. Smoking parents increase the risk of bronchitis, pneumonia and ear infections in their children even if they smoke outside. Pregnant smokers have infant mortality rates one-third higher than nonsmoking women. Quitting early in pregnancy will reduce the risk.
Smoking is costly. A carton a week costs almost $2,000 annually to the smoker, but society’s costs are much higher. About 20 percent of health-care costs are for smoking-related illness. That’s about $3,400 per smoker annually. Put another way, one-fifth of the amount people pay for health insurance is to pay for the care of smokers. With health-care costs rising rapidly, it is sobering to consider that much of it is for illness that could be prevented simply by not smoking.
Here are some good reasons to try to stop smoking, according to the American Cancer Society:
— 20 minutes after quitting: Blood pressure drops.
— 24 hours after quitting: Chance of heart attack decreases.
— Two weeks to three months after quitting: Circulation and lung function improves.
— One year out: Risk of heart disease is cut by 50 percent.
— Five years out: Chance for stroke is reduced to the same odds as those who never smoked.
— Quitting smoking reduces the risk of lung cancer by 30 percent to 50 percent after 10 years of abstinence (the longer a person remains a nonsmoker, the lower the risk).
— The risk of cancer of the esophagus is reduced by 50 percent within five years of quitting smoking.
— Quitting smoking reduces an individual’s risk of dying early by 50 percent within five years of quitting. After 15 years, the risk is the same as if the individual had never smoked.
— Risk of cervical cancer is substantially lower a few years after quitting smoking.
— It takes about three days to withdraw from nicotine. Many people do it, but there are ways to replace nicotine to allow a gradual reduction, a process some may find more tolerable. Patches, gum and lozenges are several ways to get free of tobacco. Once a smoker learns to live life without a cigarette around all the time, he or she can gradually reduce the amount of nicotine consumed until he or she is completely free of the highly addictive substance.
— The medication bupropion can double the chance of a motivated person to quit.
— A new medication, varenicline, blocks the effect of nicotine while simultaneously reducing withdrawal effects. It has shown better results than previously available quitting aids.
— The cost of cigarettes is going up, fewer public places allow it and there are lots of ways to get help. Make this year’s smokeout the day to quit once and for all.
For more information, go to the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout page at
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/ped_10_4.asp online.