Tanyrtss: Take A New Year's Resolution To Stop Smoking

By Author: Advanced Podiatry is one of the largest Podiatry g
Total Articles: 50
Comment this article

On January 1st many celebrated previous accomplishments as they rang in the new year and also set their goals and resolutions for 2015. As we enter the third week of this month statistically this is the time when those resolutions will be forgotten and left in the wake of confetti and the Times Square NYE ball.

Currently 7 out of 10 Americans report that they would like to quit smoking according to the Center for Disease Control. If you are one of those individuals why not make this year the year you leave tobacco behind. In regards to this resolution there is no bad time to start your journey to quitting. Quitting smoking can not only help you start your year off right but also decrease your risk for diseases and conditions caused by smoking. The end result; you are healthier and stronger.

Medications, hotlines, physicians, support groups and even an app on your phone can assist you during the withdrawal from nicotine and help you reach your goal. (Click Here for More Information)

In 2010 the Surgeon General Report was published regarding how tobacco smoke causes disease. (www.surgeongeneral.gov)

Why ...
... YOU Should Stop Smoking Today:

Tobacco smoke is a deadly mix of more than 7,000 chemicals
Nicotine is a powerfully addictive substance
Smoking can start your body on a path toward cancer
Smoking causes immediate damage to your arteries
Smoking damages your lungs
Smoking harms reproduction and your children's health
Smoking makes diabetes harder to control
Secondhand smoke causes immediate harm to nonsmokers

More Foot specifics: Buerger's disease (thromboangiitis obliterates is a rare disease of the arteries and veins in the arms and legs. Everyone diagnosed with Buerger's disease smokes cigarettes or uses some form of tobacco. In this disease the blood vessels become blocked with blood clots which can lead to break down in skin, infection, and loss of digits and even limbs. Buerger's disease usually presents first in the hands and feet, Quitting all forms of tobacco decreases not only your risk of this disease but also the effects once diagnosed.

According to the CDC (2004): The effects of quitting smoking/forms of tobacco start to set in immediately.

Less than 20 minutes after your last cigarette --> your heart rate will drop to normal.
Two hours after quitting --> heart rate and blood pressure normalize. Circulation begins to improve. Withdrawl symptoms begin.
Twelve hours after quitting --> CO levels in your body decrease.
Twenty- four hours after quitting --> Risk of heart attack begins to decrease.
Forty-eight hours after quitting --> Ability to smell and taste improve.
Three days after quitting --> nicotine is completely out of your body.
Three weeks after quitting --> you will be able to exercise without feeling sick or winded. Lung function begins to improve. Withdrawl symptoms begin to dissipate.
Four weeks after quitting --> lungs begin to repair. Withdrawl symptoms resolve.

"After five to 15 years of being smoke-free, your risk of having a stroke is the same as someone who doesn't smoke. Your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas decreases. Fifteen years of nonsmoking will bring your risk of heart disease back to the same level as someone who doesn't smoke "( CDC, 2004).

For assistance with making this your year to quit contact our office today or your primary care physician for more information on smoking cessation.