Today is The Great American Smokeout. We at Steckelberg Dental would like to extend our support to those who have decided to quit using tobacco products. The American Cancer Society has excellent resources, including helpful tips for family and friends. It is very important that everyone is supportive when someone is making this healthy change. Check out the ACS resources at:
https://www.cancer.org/healthy/stay-away-from-tobacco/guide-quitting-smoking.html
Did you know? Your health really improves when you quit smoking cigarettes….
- Within 20 minutes of quitting smoking, your blood pressure and heart rate return to normal.
- Within 3 months of quitting smoking, your lung function increases.
- Within 12 months of quitting smoking, your heart attack risk drops significantly.
- At the 5 year mark, your risk of oral cancer and bladder cancer is cut in half.
- At the 10 year mark, your risk of dying from lung cancer is half what it would be if you had continued smoking.
- After 15 years, your coronary heart disease risk is that of a non-smokers.
It is not just smoking cigarettes that we are concerned about. Did you know that one can of smokeless tobacco has as much nicotine as 3 packs of cigarettes? E-cigarettes and vaping machines have not been proven to be an effective way to quit smoking. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that they are safer than regular tobacco products.
Additional Resources to Quit Tobacco:
www.smokefree.gov
Nebraska Tobacco Quitline 1-800-QUIT-NOW (784-8669)
www.quitnow.ne.gov
~ Dr. Melanie Steckelberg