Smoking in America

The Great American Smokeout

After Executive Healthcare Management took a look at smoking bans around the world yesterday, we turn our attention to America where today sees the start of the 34th great American smokeout.

"Less smoking leads to more birthdays," is the message the American Cancer Society emphasizes throughout the year and especially today, which marks its sponsorship of the 34th Great American Smokeout - The Great American Smokeout encourages smokers to commit to making a long-term plan to quit smoking for good. Those who quit, ACS says, will take step toward a healthier life - a life which can lead to reducing cancer risk and a longer life expectancy.

Occupational Health & Safety states how ACS created the trademarked concept for and held its first Great American Smokeout in 1976 as a way to inspire and encourage smokers to quit for a day. One million people quit smoking for a day at the 1976 event in California.

Benefits of not smoking

The health benefits of quitting smoking start to take effect almost immediately according to ACS and the US Surgeon General.

20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drops.

12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.

Two weeks to three months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.

One to nine months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.

One year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's.

Five years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.

10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker's. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decrease.

15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker's.

ACS also notes that people who stop smoking before the age 50 can cut their risk of dying in the next 15 years in half compared with those who continue to smoke.

"We know that quitting smoking is tough and that most smokers have to try several times before quitting for good," said Alan G. Thorson, MD, FACS, national volunteer president for the American Cancer Society.

"We hope that smokers will use the Great American Smokeout to map out a course of action that will help them to quit, and in turn to stay well and celebrate more birthdays."

ACS

The society notes that "great progress" is being made in reducing tobacco use in the United States, with adult smoking rates in 2007 declining among all adults to 19.8 percent. The ACS Web site offers a plethora of facts about tobacco use, such as the following:

• Cigarette smoking accounts for about 443,000 premature deaths - including 49,400 in nonsmokers.

• Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States

• Thirty percent of cancer deaths, including 87 percent of lung cancer deaths, can be attributed to tobacco.

• Smoking also accounts for $193 billion in health care expenditures and productivity losses.

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