Smoking Cessation

Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. Over 41,000 of these deaths are from breathing secondhand smoke. That’s about one in every five deaths, or 1,300 per day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On average, smokers die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers. Smoking often causes serious health issues, such as heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and other cancers. Smoking also increases your risk for blindness.

Other oral and inhaled tobacco products also cause health problems. These products include chewing tobacco, snuff, dip, cigars, and pipes. As with cigarettes, using these products often leads to cancer, heart disease, and other serious health conditions.

Some smokers try “vaping” to help them quit. Vaping is the use of electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, which do not contain tobacco but instead heat up nicotine to produce a smoke-like vapor that is then inhaled. Some smokers find that vaping helps them quit smoking for a few months, but they often go back to smoking. A recent study found that after one year since starting to vape, 90% of study participants were still smoking cigarettes.

Quitting tobacco is hard. UAB Medicine wants to help you “kick the habit.” Quitting now is one of the best things you can do for your health. We generally recommend three steps:

1. Ask your doctor for medicine to ease your cravings, or choose a nicotine replacement product such as nicotine patches or nicotine gum.
2. Get counseling to help you make a plan to quit that fits your lifestyle and preferences. Free counseling is available by calling 1-800-QUITNOW (or en español 1-855-dejelo-ya).
3. Get more activity or exercise.

If you are ready to quit, we suggest you start by:

• Watching our Emmi informational video.
• Visiting one of these websites:
  • smokefree.gov
  • quitnowalabama.com
  • quitterscircle.com
• Downloading a free app to your smartphone or tablet that provides assistance in quitting tobacco, such as:
  • Quitter’s Circle
  • quitSTART

PODCAST: Vaping: New Research on Risks Associated with e-Cigarettes

Susan Walley and Kathy Harrington — As cigarette smoking seems to be on the decline, another method of nicotine use has managed to hook today’s youth. Some smokers find that vaping helps them quit smoking for a few months, but they often go back to smoking.