Tobacco Cessation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you Know?

Have you ever breathed in the smoke that curls up from the tip of someone else's cigarette? Or the smoke exhaled by a smoker? If so, then you have breathed most of the same harmful, cancer-causing parts of smoke inhaled by smokers. This called secondhand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke (ets). As a nonsmoker breathing the smoke from others, you are at risk for the same illnesses as smokers. Ventilation (airing out a room or opening a window) does not reduce the health risks of secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke is classified as a "Group A" cancer-causing agent. That means that no level of smoke is known to be safe. Therfore; federal agencies recommend exposure to secondhand smoke be reduced to the lowest possible levels.

1200 non-smoking Missourians die annually due to secondhand smoke.

Children who live with smokers are more likely to have health problems such as:

  • Respiratory symptoms
  • Slowed lung growth
  • Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
  • Acute respiratory infections
  • Ear problems
  • More frequent and severe asthma attacks
In addition, each year in the United States, secondhand smoke exposure is responsible for the 150,000 - 300,000 new cases of bronchitis and pneumonia in children younger than 18 months old. This results in 7,500 - 15,000 hospitalizations each year.

You can...

  • Encourage your worksite to be smoke free
  • Eat at restaurants that are smoke free
  • Staying in motel/hotels that are smoke free
  • If you smoke--QUIT

Set Yourself Free

If you quit, you'll live longer and stay healthier - and so will your family. When you quit smoking, you will start showing signs of physical recovery almost immediately

Effects of quitting after:

  • 20 minutes
    Your heart rate drops.
  • 12 hours
    The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
  • 2 weeks to 3 months
    Circulation improves. Your lung function increases up to 30 percent.
  • 1 to 9 months
    Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia regain normal functions in the lungs, increasing their ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce infection.
  • 1 year
    Your risk of having coronay artery disease is half that of a smoker's.
  • 5 years
    Five to 15 years after quitting, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker.
  • 10 years
    Your risk of dying from lung cancer is about half that of a continuing smoker; risks of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decrease.
  • 15 years
    Your risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker.

Stop by the Health Department for your free "Quit Kit".

Press the arrow to see all the smoke free restaurant's in Polk County.