Health Risks of Tobacco vs. Benefits of Quitting:

Immediate Improvement, Long-Term Pay-off

According to the Centers for Disease Control, in the U.S. about 443,000 deaths each year are attributable to cigarette smoking, making it the number 1 cause of preventable death. Since 1964, when the first Surgeon General’s report on the health effects of smoking was published, the evidence has continued to mount that tobacco use harms nearly every organ in the body.

Cardiovascular diseases (e.g. heart attacks, stroke, peripheral arterial disease), lung diseases, multiple cancers (not just lung cancer, but including and not limited to colorectal, bladder, and cervical), osteoporosis, complications in pregnancy, fetal development, and birth, increased risk of SIDS and development of early childhood asthma are just some examples of the health consequences of smoking.

And cigarette smoking is not the only culprit. Cigars and smokeless tobacco products have similar as well as their own consequences. Finally, even if you have avoided tobacco use or have quit, exposure to secondhand smoke puts you at risk for the same health issues as current smokers.

Now for the good news! The health benefits of quitting begin within the first 20 minutes after your last cigarette, and continue for weeks, months and years thereafter. Below is a partial list of the benefits once can look forward to when the commitment is made to quit. You will see that, first and foremost, it’s never too late to quit!

• People who stop smoking greatly reduce their risk of dying prematurely. Benefits are greater for people who stop at earlier ages, but cessation is beneficial at all ages.(The Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation, A Report of the Surgeon General, 1990; Women and Smoking, A Report of the Surgeon General, 2001) 
• Women who stop smoking before or during pregnancy reduce their risk for adverse reproductive outcomes such as infertility or having a low-birth-weight baby. (Women and Smoking, A Report of the Surgeon General, 2001) 
• 20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drops. (Effect of Smoking on Arterial Stiffness and Pulse Pressure Amplification, Mahmud, A, Feely, J. 2003. Hypertension: 41:183.)
• 12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1988, p. 202)
• 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp.193, 194,196, 285, 323)
• 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. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp. 285-287, 304)
• 1 year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi)
• 5 years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker 5 to 15 years after quitting. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi)
• 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, too.  (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp. vi, 131, 148, 152, 155, 164,166)
• 15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is the same as a non-smoker's. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi)

Source: American Cancer Society; Centers for Disease Control; U.S. Surgeon General