WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SMOKING

Advice From Surgeon General’s Reports on Smoking and Health

QUITTING WILL SAVE LIVES AND IMPROVE HEALTH

Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the
United States. Recent studies show that smokers who talk with a clinician about how
to quit dramatically increase their chances of quitting successfully. Quitting smoking is the
most important step you can take to improve your health. Your doctor can help you quit.

TIPS FOR QUITTING

If you are a smoker who wants to quit:
Set a quit date, ideally within two weeks.
l 
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS FROM
Remove tobacco products from your home, car, and workplace.
l 
SURGEON GENERAL’S REPORTS ON
Resolve not to smoke at all—not even one puff.
l 
SMOKING AND HEALTH
l Avoid
 drinking while you’re quitting cigarettes. Drinking alcohol can trigger
cravings for a cigarette. 1. There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke.
Any exposure to tobacco smoke—even an occasional
l Anticipate
 challenges, such as nicotine withdrawal, particularly during the
cigarette or exposure to secondhand smoke—is
critical first few weeks.
harmful.
l Ask
 others not to smoke around you. Allowing them to smoke around you
2. Damage from tobacco smoke is immediate. Tobacco
can make it harder for you to quit.
smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals and
l Identify
 reasons for quitting and benefits of quitting. chemical compounds that reach your lungs every time
you inhale. Your blood then carries the poisons to all
Medication and counseling help smokers quit: parts of your body. These poisons damage DNA, which
l Physicians
 can recommend counseling or coaching in combination with can lead to cancer; damage blood vessels and cause
over-the-counter nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges or with Food and Drug clotting, which can cause heart attacks and strokes; and
Administration–approved medications, unless there are other health concerns damage the lungs, which can cause asthma attacks,
about those medications. emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.
l Medication
 and counseling in combination result in much higher quit rates 3. Smoking longer means more damage. Both the risk and
than medication alone. the severity of many diseases caused by smoking are
l Counseling
 and coaching are available through community, employer, insurance, directly related to how long the smoker has smoked and
and hospital/medical practice cessation programs or through quitline services the number of cigarettes smoked per day.
(1-800-QUIT-NOW). 4. Cigarettes are designed for addiction. The design
and contents of tobacco products make them more
attractive and addictive than ever before. Nicotine
addiction keeps people smoking even when they
YOU Resources to help smokers quit: want to quit.
CAN QUIT l Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669),
the national access number to
5. Even low levels of exposure, including exposure to
secondhand tobacco smoke, are dangerous. You don’t
AND YOUR HEALTH state-based quitline services. have to be a heavy smoker or a long-time smoker to
CARE PROVIDER For free materials, go to: get a smoking-related disease or have a heart attack or
CAN HELP
l
www.smokefree.gov; stroke triggered by smoke.
www.cdc.gov/tips; and 6. There is no safe cigarette.
www.ahrq.gov/path/tobacco.htm.

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 HOW SMOKING HARMS YOUR HEALTH
HEART DISEASE CANCER
Smoking causes dangerous plaque Tobacco smoke contains toxic
buildup that can clog and narrow your chemicals that can damage your DNA
arteries. Poisons from tobacco smoke and lead to cancer. One out of every
also quickly damage blood vessels three cancer deaths in this country is
and make blood more likely to clot. from smoking. People who continue
This can block blood flow and lead to to smoke after being diagnosed with
heart attack, stroke, or sudden death. cancer are at higher risk for future
Even exposure to secondhand smoke cancers and death. Cancer patients
can trigger a heart attack or stroke in and survivors who smoke are more
nonsmokers. likely to get a new primary cancer (a cancer that occurs in a different
Quitting smoking will improve your heart health. After just one year, your organ). They are also at higher risk for death from causes related to their
risk for a heart attack drops sharply. Even if you’ve already had a heart cancer and from other causes. Quitting smoking improves the outcomes
attack, you cut your risk of having another one by a third to a half if you of cancer patients.
quit smoking. Two to five years after you quit, your risk for stroke falls to
about the same as a nonsmoker’s. FERTILITY AND
PREGNANCY
Smoking reduces a woman’s chance
DIABETES of getting pregnant and damages
Smoking is a cause of type 2 diabetes. DNA in sperm. Damage to sperm
If you have diabetes and smoke, your could decrease fertility and lead to
risk for kidney disease is two to three miscarriage or birth defects. Men
times higher than if you don’t smoke. who smoke are more likely to have
Smokers with diabetes also have erectile dysfunction, which can affect
higher risk for heart disease; eye reproduction. Women who smoke during pregnancy have a higher risk for
disease that can cause blindness; ectopic pregnancy, delivering their babies early, and stillbirth. Those who
nerve damage that leads to smoke during early pregnancy are more likely to have babies born with
numbness, pain, weakness, and poor circulation; and amputations. a cleft lip or palate. Babies whose mothers smoke during pregnancy
Smokers who have diabetes also have more difficulty recovering from surgery. are more likely to have low birth weight or to die from sudden infant
After you quit smoking, you will have better control over your blood sugar death syndrome (SIDS). Tobacco smoke also damages the tissues of the
levels. When you quit, you will be less likely to have heart or kidney disease, unborn baby’s growing brain and lungs and could interfere with the
blindness, or amputations. growth of the placenta, the organ that feeds the baby in the womb.
This could lead to miscarriage, premature delivery, or low birth weight.

Most people find a combination of resources works best. RESOURCES l Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW
Many smokers do not quit on their first attempt. Many need FOR www.smokefree.gov
several tries to successfully quit. But the benefits are well QUITTING l 

l www.cdc.gov/tips
worth it. Keep trying.


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