Great American Smokeout urges kicking the habit

For 36 years, the American Cancer Society has been sponsoring the Great American Smokeout, and today is that day nationwide.

The smokeout encourages smokers to make plans to quit or plan in advance to quit that day, an American Cancer Society news release said. An ACS report shows smokers who quit can expect to live up to 10 years longer than those who continue to smoke.

Tobacco use remains the world's most preventable cause of death, the release said. It accounts for about 443,000 premature deaths, including 49,400 in nonsmokers; 30 percent of cancer deaths, including 87 percent of lung cancer deaths, can be attributed to smoking; and smoking accounts for more than $193 billion in health care expenditures and productivity losses annually, the release said.

Adult smoking rates vary across the nation, but the states with the most smokers are in the Midwest and Southeast regions, according to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

Approximately 3,900 Kansans die from cigarette smoking every year, and more than 290 Kansans die annually from secondhand smoke, information from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment website said.

Between 2002 and 2003 the Kansas adult smoking prevalence rate dropped from 22.1 percent to 20.4 percent, KDHE information said.

The trend continued in 2004, dropping to 19.8 percent and continued to decline to 17.8 percent in 2005. In 2006, there was an increase to 20 percent, the information said. In Kansas, 73 percent of current smokers 18 years and older reported they became regular smokers before or at the age of 18. KDHE information notes that as people get older, it's more difficult for them to recall the exact age they began smoking.

Mary Wynn, Mercy Health Center's director of Infection Control and Employee Health, suggests the following for quitting for the Great American Smokeout:

* Do not smoke -- not even just one.

* Get rid of all tobacco, lighters, ashtrays or other items related to smoking.

* Keep physically active. Try walking with a friend or doing other hobbies.

* Stay hydrated. Drink lots of fluids, such as water, tea or other non-sugared beverages.

* Avoid situations, places and people that may trigger a strong urge to smoke.

* Practice stress management and relaxation techniques.

* Keep your hands busy by writing, squeezing a ball or sewing.

Benefits of quitting over time, the ACS website said, are:

20 minutes after

quitting

Heart rate and blood pressure drop. (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 the blood drops to normal. (U.S. Surgeon General's Report, 1988, p. 202)

Two weeks to three months after quitting

Circulation improves and lung function increases. (U.S. Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp.193, 194,196, 285, 323)

One to nine months after quitting

Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) start to regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs and reduce the risk of infection. (U.S. Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp. 285-287, 304)

One year after quitting

The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a continuing smoker's. (U.S. Surgeon General's Report, 2010, p. 359)

Five years after quitting

Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder are cut in half. Cervical cancer risk falls to that of a non-smoker. Stroke risk can fall to that of a non-smoker after two to five years. (A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease -- The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease Fact Sheet, 2010; Tobacco Control: Reversal of Risk After Quitting Smoking. IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention, Vol. 11. 2007, p 341)

10 years after quitting

The risk of dying from lung cancer is about half that of a person who is still smoking. The risk of cancer of the larynx and pancreas decreases. (A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease -- The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease Fact Sheet, 2010; and US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp. vi, 155, 165)

15 years after quitting

The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker's. (Tobacco Control: Reversal of Risk After Quitting Smoking. IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention, Vol. 11. 2007. p 11)