In 2002, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta estimated there were 45.8 million smokers & 46 million former smokers in the United States. The number of smokers continues to slowly decline. 22.5% of adults were smokers in 2002 versus 23.3 % in 2000.

Many cigarette smokers are trying to kick the habit…or at least say they are trying. At this point, the medical evidence pointing to health issues caused by tobacco is irrefutable. The challenge is that many current smokers picked up the habit before all this information was well-known and publicized. That’s not an excuse, just a fact.

In the interest of public health & safety, the U.S. government launched a massive antismoking campaign in 1991. The multi-year program aimed to achieve several goals:

- prevent 1.2 million smoking-related deaths; - help 5.5 million adults stop smoking; - prevent 2 million youths from starting to smoke; - reduce the number of smokers in the population to 15%.

In 1990, the Surgeon General released the first comprehensive report on the benefits of smoking cessation and reported that many of the harmful effects of smoking could be reversed.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the number one and two killers of Americans in 2003 were heart disease and cancer respectively. Lung cancer is the number one killer of both men and women. Smokers who kick the habit in middle age or before also kick 90% of the lung cancer risk attributable to tobacco. These findings have been supported by studies done in other countries. The fact is even for heavy smokers, giving up smoking by middle age drastically reduces the chances of getting lung cancer.

Studies have also shown the benefits of smoking cessation in relation to heart disease. After only one year’s abstinence from smoking, the risk of heart disease declines by about 50% and continues to decline gradually. After a decade of no smoking, the risk of heart disease has declined to the level of a person who has never smoked.

The major hurdle in smoking cessation is nicotine withdrawal which causes anxiety, irritability, frustration, and eventually causes people to start smoking again to relieve the symptoms. It only takes a few weeks of self-discipline before nicotine withdrawal dissipates and you’ll enjoy the reduced risks of lung cancer and heart disease.

There are several ways to quit smoking including nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), non-nicotine therapy, and behavioral treatments. Considering the harmful effects of smoking and the benefits of quitting, when would now be a great time to find the right smoking cessation for you?