If you smoke, the single most important thing you can do to improve your health and manage related conditions like COPD is to quit. Tobacco smoke and other inhaled toxins aggravate your symptoms and significantly increase your risk for other serious medical illnesses.
When you stop smoking you’ll immediately notice that it’s easier to breathe and you’re coughing less. Blood pressure will return to healthy levels and your immune system will be stronger, cutting your chances of catching colds and the flu. In the long-term, you’ll slash your risk of developing serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke and some cancers.
Quitting is not easy. Perhaps you’ve already tried several times to quit. You may have experienced temporary setbacks like weight gain, anxiety and irritability. But there are many different ways to quit smoking. Your long-term success depends on finding the right quit plan for you. Plenty of resources are available to assist you, including step-by-step manuals, counseling and medicines to help kick those nicotine cravings. Talk with your health care provider about the best options for you.
The following free resources can offer you the support and information you need to quit tobacco for good:
• The American Cancer Society’s Guide to Quitting Smoking is a comprehensive quit guide that includes the different options available and where you can go for help.
• Smoking Quitline: Talk with a National Cancer Institute (NCI) smoking cessation counselor to get answers to your smoking-related questions in English or Spanish. Toll-free in the United States, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, 1-877-44U-QUIT (1-877-448-7848)
• Smokefree.gov has tools, information and support to help you quit.
• Smokefree Women covers smoking-related topics important to women, such as weight management and stress, and tells how to contact experts and find other resources.
• Smokefree Teen provides tailored information, social media pages with quit tools, and a free smartphone application to help teen smokers quit.
• Quitnet.com offers community support forums where smokers and ex-smokers can connect to share quit tips and motivate one another, interactive tools, expert advice and information to tailor a quit program that matches your needs.
• The American Lung Association provides the latest tobacco news, educational information and quit resources, including a workplace wellness program for employees.
• Download this Smokefree QuitGuide app for your smartphone from iTunes.
• Get in-depth information about FDA-approved products available to help you quit smoking.
• Smokeless Tobacco: A Guide for Quitting offers resources to help smokeless tobacco users quit.
• Mayo Clinic offers in-depth information and resources to help smokers and dippers quit tobacco.
• Resources and support from the American Heart Association includes information on reasons to quit, dealing with cravings and life after tobacco.
• BecomeAnEx.org offers a free, online plan and support from ex-smokers like NASCAR driver Carl Edwards to help you quit smoking.
Freeing yourself from tobacco is one of the best things you can do for your health and for your loved ones. You can do it. A brand new world awaits you.