Smoking Cessation

Quitting Smoking: Resources from Washington Township Medical Foundation

If you smoke, quitting is one of the best things you can do to protect your health and your lungs. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, causing 480,00 deaths per year. This equals almost one in five deaths that occur in the United States. Smoking doesn’t just affect the lungs. Smoking harms almost every organ in the body. It can cause respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking is also the cause of most cases of lung cancer. Tobacco smoke can trigger attacks in people with asthma or increase the violence of asthma attacks. People who smoke are 12 to 13 times more likely to die from COPD than people who do not smoke.

Smoking increases the risk of:

• Stroke, by 2 to 4 times
• Coronary heart disease, by 2 to 4 times
• Men developing lung cancer by 25 times
• Women developing lung cancer by 25.6 times

Facts About Quitting Smoking

Most smokers have a hard time quitting smoking due to nicotine addiction. Nicotine is a drug found in tobacco. While quitting can be difficult, the health benefits are extreme. Learn more about resources available to help you quit smoking when you speak with the pulmonary specialists at Washington Township Medical Foundation.

Some health benefits of smoking cessation include:

• Reduced risk of cancer
• Reduced risk of heart disease within 1 to 2 years of quitting smoking
• Reduced respiratory symptoms including shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing
• In women, reduced risk of infertility
• Reduced risk of lung diseases including COPD