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From the Summer 2005 Issue

Learning Center

Health Benefits Develop Quickly After You Quit Smoking

Forty years ago the first Surgeon General's report linked smoking to only three types of illness. Today doctors have evidence that links smoking to all types of disease—and especially to heart and artery disease.

But did you know that scientists also have very encouraging data about how quickly your health can rebound from some problems caused by smoking? Or that there are new programs and products to help you quit smoking?

New Facts About Smoking

"We've known for decades that smoking is bad for your health, but a [2004] report shows that it's even worse" than we knew, explained Richard Carmona, MD, who at that time was US Surgeon General. "The toxins from cigarette smoke go everywhere the blood flows."

New evidence links smoking to more diseases: cataracts, osteoporosis, some leukemias, and cancers of the cervix, kidney, stomach, and pancreas. But at the top of the list is cardiovascular disease (CVD), which ../includes a variety of conditions—blocked arteries, heart attacks, high blood pressure, and strokes.

In fact, among smokers worldwide it's CVD—not cancer—that's the number 1 cause of death.1

Lower Your Risk in Minutes

The facts about how smoking affects your heart may seem overwhelming. Some smokers may even get discouraged about quitting. But there are some very encouraging facts about how quickly health benefits show up after quitting:

Better Health in Minutes . . . Hours . . . Weeks2

The Risks of Smoking

Much of the risk of smoking is tied to the risk of heart attack—and to a lesser extent, stroke. Smoking damages the lining of the arteries and promotes plaque buildup (also called atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries). Plaque consists of fatty deposits like cholesterol that collect inside the arteries. Plaque can eventually block the arteries and cut off the blood and oxygen supply to the heart or brain.

Plaque buildup can lead to:

• Heart attack—Inside the coronary arteries that are located on the surface of your heart, plaque or a clot can block blood flow and cause a heart attack.
• Stroke—Inside the carotid arteries in your neck, plaque or a clot can block blood flow to the brain and cause a stroke.

Smoking does much more than promote plaque buildup. It also affects substances in the blood, such as proteins, making the blood sticky and more likely to clot.

In addition, smoking has been linked to other heart conditions, including heart failure and irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias).

Smoking and CVD Risk Factors

Smoking is the most important of the preventable CVD risk factors. Smoking also affects other common risk factors.

High blood pressure—Smoking narrows the blood vessels, which increases blood pressure. High blood pressure can lead to many types of CVD. Smoking also increases your heart rate, making your heart work harder.

High cholesterol—Smoking decreases the amount of "good" cholesterol—also called HDL or high-density lipoprotein—in your blood. It increases the amount of "bad" cholesterol, known as LDL or low-density lipoprotein. The tobacco smoke contains chemicals called free radicals that make the LDL even more harmful to the arteries.

Lack of exercise—Smoking puts carbon monoxide into your bloodstream, which decreases the amount of oxygen that your blood can carry. A decreased blood oxygen level lowers your energy for exercise.

Obesity—Since smoking can decrease your level of exercise, it can also lead to weight gain.

Diabetes—Smoking increases your body's resistance to insulin, a hormone needed to convert blood sugar into energy. This resistance occurs even if your body makes enough insulin on its own, or if you take insulin by injection because you have diabetes.

Can a Smoker Avoid These Risks?

Well. . . no. The risks aren't limited to people who smoke a pack or two of cigarettes a day. Smoking just three to five cigarettes daily increases the risk of heart attack and death.

Just as there is no safe number of cigarettes per day, there is no safe type of smoking. All forms of tobacco are dangerous, including chewing tobacco and pipe or cigar smoking. The same is true for all cigarettes, whether "called light, ultra-light, or any other name," said Dr. Carmona. "The science is clear: the only way to avoid the health hazards of smoking is to quit completely or never start."

It's Never Too Late to Quit

For a smoker, reading about the negative effects of tobacco might not be very pleasant. Yet you can take action—because it's never too late to quit. Dr. Carmona noted that even if you don't quit smoking until age 65 or older, you can still cut your risk of dying from a smoking-related disease by nearly 50%.

Dr. Carmona hopes the recent findings about the risks of cardiovascular disease and cancer "will help motivate people to quit smoking," he said, "and convince young people not to start in the first place."

1. Ezzati M, Lopez AD. Estimates of global mortality attributable to smoking in 2000. Lancet. 2003;362:847-852.
2. Questions about smoking, tobacco, and health. American Cancer Society Web site. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2x_Questions_About
   _Smoking_Tobacco_and_Health.asp?sitearea=PED. Accessed November 7, 2006
3. Cigarette smoking and cardiovascular disease: AHA scientific position. American Heart Association Web site. Available at: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4545. Accessed November 7, 2006.
4. Cigarette Smoking. American Cancer Society Web site. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Cigarette_Smoking.asp?sitearea=PED. Accessed November 7, 2006.
5. Secondhand smoke. American Cancer Society Web site. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_
   Secondhand_Smoke-Clean_Indoor_Air.asp?sitearea=PED. Accessed November 7, 2006

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