CBHS encourages smokers to quit

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Thursday was the Great American Smokeout, and Clarendon Behavioral Health Services joined agencies throughout the nation in encouraging smokers to plan to quit or to make plans to quit smoking.

According to the American Cancer Society, tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States, yet about 42 million Americans still smoke cigarettes, about one in every five adults. As of 2012, there were also 13.4 million cigar smokers and 2.3 million who smoke tobacco in pipes and other dangerous and addictive forms of tobacco.

The health benefits of quitting smoking start immediately from the moment a smoker quits. Health risks are reduced the younger you quit, but quitting at any age can give back years that may be lost by continuing to smoke, according to the Clarendon Behavioral Health Services. Here are some benefits submitted by the agency.

When you quit your body recovers after a certain amount of time:

  • 20 minutes: Your heart rate and blood pressure drops.
  • 12 hours: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
  • Two weeks and three months: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
  • One to nine months: Coughing and shortness of breath decreases; cilia start to regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs and reduce the risk of infection.
  • A year: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a continuing smoker's.
  • Five years: Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder are cut in half. Cervical cancer risk falls to that of a non-smoker. Stroke risk can fall to that of a non-smoker after 2-5 years.
  • 10 years: The risk of dying from lung cancer is about half that of a person who is still smoking. The risk of cancer of the larynx (voice box) and pancreas decreases.
  • 15 years: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker's.

Quitting is difficult, but you can increase your rate of success with help. Research shows that smokers are more successful in quitting when they have support.

Clarendon Behavioral Health Services can tell you about the steps you can take to quit, provide you with information on telephone quit-lines, and provide general tobacco information.

Call (803) 435-2121 for more information.