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If you don't smoke now-don't start!
If you do smoke, it's never too late to quit.
Clear
the Air
Smoking
remains the number one cause of preventable disease and death in
the U.S., with more than 140,000 women dying each year from smoking-related
diseases. Use of tobacco increases your risk of cancer, heart disease
and stroke, respiratory diseases, and reproductive disorders. Tobacco
use also increases risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, pre-term delivery,
and infant death and is a cause of low birth weight in infants.
Smoking
not only affects your health, but also your children's health. It's
estimated that mothers who smoke at least 10 cigarettes a day can
cause asthma among their children. In addition, children with asthma
have their condition worsened by exposure to second-hand smoke.
Second-hand smoke also increases a child's risk of pneumonia, bronchitis
and fluid in the middle ear.
Breaking
the smoking addiction is hard, but you can do it. Here are some
tips:
- Write
down why you want to quit.
- Know
that it will take effort to quit. Take it one day at a time.
- Set
a quit date.
- Get
rid of all cigarettes at home, in the car and at work.
- Consult
your primary care physician for help. Consider nicotine replacement
products, counseling, and even acupuncture.
- Consider
joining a smoking cessation support group.
- Tell
friends and family how they can help.
- Think
of three cigarette substitutes you can use such as fresh fruits,
chewing gum, crocheting, drawing, or squeezing a rubber ball.
Put these in places where you kept cigarettes.
If
you start to smoke again, don't feel bad. Try quitting again. Your
chances of remaining smoke-free get better with each try. You fail
only when you stop trying.
Benefits
of quitting
- You'll
start to breathe easier within 2-3 weeks.
- More
oxygen will get to your brain.
- Your
ability to taste and smell will improve.
- You
will probably live longer and better.
- Your
chance of having cancer, heart disease, or a stroke will lessen.
- Your
chance of having a healthy baby will improve.
- You
will have more money to spend on things other than cigarettes.
Remember-withdrawal
symptoms are normal and will end soon. Your body is healing and
you are becoming a healthy ex-smoker. Help is available.
[Editor's
note: Information from National Women's Health Information Center
at www.4woman.gov
and also from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at
www.cdc.gov.]
Resources
for Clear the Air...
American
Cancer Society
800-ACS-2345
www.cancer.org
National
Cancer Institute
800-4-CANCER
www.nci.nih.gov
Office
on Smoking and Health
800-CDC-1311
www.cdc.gov
See
also ...
A
Long and Healthy Life: It's Your Choice
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