"THE BENEFITS" OF QUITTING SMOKING

Dr. Antonia Novello wrote about:

THE HEALTH BENEFITS of Quitting Smoking!

1. After an ex-smoker stays off cigarettes for 15 years, the risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who never smoked.

-Heart Disease drops by 50% after just 1 year.

-Lung Cancer drops 30-50 % by 10 years after stopping

-Ex-smokers have less days of sickness, fewer health problems and better over-all health

2. Smokers who quit between ages 35-39:

-Men add an average of 3 years to their lives

-Women an average of 3 years

Smokers who quit at ages 65-69 years: Still can Add 1 full year to their lives

3. Average Weight Gain: ONLY 5 LBS. Weight can be controlled by limiting the strong cravings for food with small pieces of fruit or vegetables instead of sugary and fatty foods, drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day, and walking 30 min. a day.

4. Trying to quit more than once:

-2/3rd's of smokers say they would like to quit

-19% have never tried to quit

-Each year hundreds of thousands quit successfully

-Only 10% of those who try to quit are successful the first try -- don't give up, try again!

-With a good stop smoking program, 20-40% are able to quit smoking and stay off for at least 1 yr.

"THE GLOBE AND MAIL" ADDS OTHERS ITEMS ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN --

AFTER THE LAST PUFF:

* 20 MINUTES AFTER QUITTING: blood pressure and pulse rate drop to normal while the temperature of the hands and feet return to normal.

* AFTER EIGHT HOURS: the carbon monoxide level of the blood returns to what it should be.

* AFTER 24 HOURS: the chances of a heart attack (hastened) by smoking start to sharply reduce

* AFTER 72 HOURS: the bronchial tubes in the lungs relax and you can get more air into your lungs

* AFTER 2 WKS. - 3 MONTHS: the circulation and the ability to breath right both improve, and exercise becomes easier.

* AFTER 1 - 9 MONTHS: coughing decreases, the energy level goes up, and the cilia (the little hairs) in the wind-pipe start to regrow

* AFTER 5 - 10 YEARS: the circulation does a major repair job and the chances of dying from lung cancer drop drastically

* AFTER 10 YEARS: "Pre-cancerous cells" in the lungs are gradually replaced by healthy cells, and the risk of lung cancer drops to close to that of a non-smoker. The risk of all cancer goes down!

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