Great American Smokeout

The Great American Smokeout  is  an annual event occurring the third Thursday of November. If you’ve decided to quit smoking we want to congratulate you! There are steps you can take to ensure your success with giving up smoking this year.

1. Designate your quit day – mark it on your calendar and tell others about it so they can support you.

2. Plan your entire day – know when you’re going to get up, who you’re going to hang out with, and what you’re going to eat. Change your routine from the everyday. Take a different route to work, eat in a different place, drink tea instead of coffee.

3. Plan ahead for when you think the urge to smoke might come and decide how you’re going to handle it.

4. Keep active and drink lots of water and juices.

5. Buy yourself a treat – do something special to celebrate your success.

6. Take one day at a time and remind yourself of why quitting is important to you.

7. Enlist the help of a professional. Visit www.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/greatamericans/smokeout.asp to have someone from the American Cancer Society’s Quitline personally contact you.

And remember to take things one day at a time. Every day that you remain smoke free is a step closer to a healthier life.

20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drops.

12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.

2 weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.

1 to 9 months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.

1 year after quitting:The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.

5 years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.

10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker’s. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decrease.

15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker’s.

*Taken from The American Cancer Society