Less Smoking Leads to More Birthdays!!
The American Cancer Society has resources available to help smokers begin their journey towards quitting and staying well, including free help from trained counselors through the organization’s smoking cessation program (1-800-227-2345).
Research shows that people who stop smoking before age 50 can cut their risk of dying in the next 15 years in half compared with those who continue to smoke. Smokers who quit also reduce their risk of lung cancer – ten years after quitting, the lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker’s. Some of the health effects of quitting are almost instant, too – heart rate and blood pressure drop 20 minutes after quitting.
For more information go to: http://www.horton4yl.com/community-news/american-cancer-society-marks-34th-great-american-smokeout®/
The Great American Smokeout Web site (www.cancer.org/GreatAmericans <http://www.cancer.org/GreatAmericans> ) contains user-friendly tips and tools towards a smoke-free life. In addition to tip sheets and calculators, the site also offers downloadable desktop helpers to assist with planning to quit and succeeding in staying tobacco-free. The Quit Clock allows users to pick a quit day within 30 days, then counts down the selected day with tips for each day; and the Craving Stopper helps smokers beat cravings by offering a fun distraction.
Important facts about tobacco use:
o Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the U.S.
o Cigarette smoking accounts for about 443,000 premature deaths – including 49,400 in nonsmokers.
o Thirty percent of cancer deaths, including 87 percent of lung cancer deaths, can be attributed to tobacco.
o Smoking also accounts for $193 billion in health care expenditures and productivity losses.
o Great progress is being made in reducing tobacco use in the U.S., with adult smoking rates in 2007 declining among all adults to 19.8 percent.
About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing about $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, about 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org <http://www.cancer.org/> .
Donate to Jan's 2010 Campaign
