November 19 is the American Cancer Society’s 34th Great American Smokeout. Smokers are encouraged to use this day to quit smoking altogether, or to finally put that action plan into place.

Smokers who quit at age 35 gain an average of eight years of of life expectancy; those who quit at age 55 gain approximately five years, and even quitting at 65 will add about three years.

In the long-term, within five to 15 years after quitting, the risk of stroke is reduced to that of a non-smoker; after 10 years, the death rate from lung cancer is cut to about half that of the person who continues to smoke; and after 15 years, the risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker’s.

Short term effects are immediate. Heart rate and blood pressure drop within 20 minutes after the last cigarette. Between two weeks to three months later, circulation improves and lung function increases. Between one to nine months after quitting, things really begin to change for the better. Coughing and shortness of breath decrease and you begin to feel the benefits of normal lung function — increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection. If you’re a long-term smoker, you probably can’t even imagine how good that would feel.

The American Cancer Society wants to help you quit and is offering online resources (Great American Smokeout website) as well as personalized telephone coaching (American Cancer Society Quit for Life ® 1-800-227-2345) by trained specialists.

One very important component to real health care reform rests with individuals and our responsibility for our own health and well-being. Use of tobacco is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States, responsible for 30 percent of cancer deaths and 87 percent of lung cancer deaths.

The financial consequences of tobacco use are staggering — $193 billion in health care expenditures and loss of productivity. That’s a lot of expense for something completely preventable.

If you smoke around others, it should come as no surprise that secondhand smoke is a huge problem, causing between 35,000 and 40,000 deaths from heart disease every year.

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