Smoking Cessation

Mark Twain said, "Quitting smoking is easy. I've done it a thousand times."

The New Year is a popular time to quit smoking.
A good first step is to decide a quit date - the day when you'll break free of your tobacco addiction. Avoid making an impulsive decision.

Prepare yourself first and consider visiting your doctor or other health care provider before the quit date. Your doctor can help by providing practical advice and information on the approach that's best for you. Tell your friends and family that you are quitting, and ask them to help you - particularly if they are smokers. Ask them not to smoke or leave cigarettes around you. Also, change your routine. Eat breakfast in a different place, and drink tea instead of coffee. You may want to consider substituting a new activity in place of a cigarette. Avoid situations or activities that you associate with smoking, and you'll increase your chances of success.

Click here to listen to this message

If you or someone you know is trying to quit smoking, here are some things you should know.

Nicotine is a drug found naturally in tobacco.
It is highly addictive and over time the body becomes physically and psychologically dependent with continued use.

Several factors can affect how the body handles nicotine, but generally, a regular smoker will have nicotine or its by-products present in the body or the urine for 4 to 7 days after stopping the use of tobacco. If a regular smoker abruptly stops taking in nicotine, withdrawal symptoms will occur. They usually start within a few hours of the last cigarette and peak about 2 to 3 days later. Withdrawal symptoms can last for a few days to several weeks.

There are many resources available for people who want to quit smoking, and you should never be afraid or embarrassed to ask for help.

Click here to listen to this message

If you quit smoking, the positive effects on your health begin immediately!

20 minutes after quitting: Your blood pressure drops to a level close to what it was before the last cigarette. The temperature of your hands and feet increases to normal.
8 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
24 hours after quitting: Your chance of a heart attack decreases. 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases up to 30%.
1 to 9 months after quitting: Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath all decrease.
1 year after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is half what it was when you were smoking The longer you stay away from nicotine, the more health benefits you will realize.

Click here to listen to this message

Disclaimer - Sources of information used on this website include the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. This information is free of copyright protection. Every effort has been made to ensure that Crescent Preferred Provider Organization, Inc.,is not in violation of applicable copyright laws. Anyone claiming copyright on information reproduced here should contact us to request its removal.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) copyright statement - Most of the information on our site is in the public domain and can be used without charge or restriction. There are a few exceptions. For example, some resources, such as the interactive health tutorials found on NIH's National Library of Medicine Website, and images on the www.nih.gov and http://health.nih.gov/ have been licensed from a third party and are restricted in their use. Generally, copyrighted materials will include a copyright statement. If in doubt, please write to the contact point for that site.

Every effort will be made to keep the information on this website as accurate and up-to-date as possible; however, changes in our industry occur rapidly. To ensure that you have the most current information, please call or e-mail Crescent staff at the address or phone numbers listed above.

Crescent Preferred Provider Organization, Inc.