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The Great American Smokeout |
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Happy November, everyone! We'd like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to an important national event coming up soon: The Great American Smokeout. On Thursday, November 18, this effort will encourage smokers everywhere to reflect on their decisions and perhaps give them a day to kick the habit altogether. If someone you care about is a smoker, consider sharing some of the information below with them and offering to support them in their efforts to quit. |
- Cigarette smoking causes significant health problems, including coughing, shortness of breath, production of phlegm, respiratory illnesses, reduced physical fitness, poor lung function, and a heightened risk of cancer.
- Concerned about the environment? An estimated 1.7 billion pounds of cigarette butts accumulate in lakes, oceans, and beaches every year. These butts contain carcinogens and other poisons that can put plants and animals in jeopardy.
- A smoker can be spotted (or smelled) at a distance. Cigarettes stain your teeth and fingers and can contribute to dental problems, like rotting teeth. In addition, they make your breath, clothes, hair, car, and home stink.
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As vast as the down-side is to smoking, the advantages to quitting are just as compelling. Check out what happens in the minutes, hours, and days after someone quits smoking.
- Twenty minutes after the last cigarette... blood pressure and pulse rate drop, and body temperature of hands and feet increases
- Eight hours after the last cigarette... carbon monoxide level in the blood drops to normal, and oxygen level in blood increases to normal.
- Twenty-four hours after the last cigarette... chance of heart attack decreases.
- Forty-eight hours after the last cigarette... nerve endings begin regrowth and ability to taste and smell improves.
- One year after the last cigarette... risk of coronary heart disease is about half that of a smoker.
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