Posted On: October 31, 2018 by Oxygen One in: Advocacy All Posts Education Patients Respiratory Care
Happy Halloween!
It's also the last day of Healthy Lung Month, which is why this week we're sharing the scary truth about tobacco and some shocking stats:
- One person dies every 4.5 seconds from a tobacco-related disease. That's 13 people per minute
- Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals
- Over 20% of all deaths in the U.S. are from tobacco...that's more than murders, car accidents, and HIV/AIDS combined.
- More than 600,000 non-smokers die each year from secondhand smoke worldwide. One-third of which are children.
- 5400 young adults light their first cigarette every single day - in the U.S. alone.
- If no one smoked, cancer deaths in the U.S. would decrease by one-third.
- On average, smokers die 10 years sooner than non-smokers.
These statistics definitely gave me the chills. To relieve those chills we also have the benefits of quitting smoking, which begin just after 20 minutes. Here they are:
- 20 minutes after quitting - Your heart rate drops to a normal level.
- 12 hours after quitting - The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
- 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting - Your risk of having a heart attack drops and your lung function begins to improve.
- 10 months after quitting - Your coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
- 1 year after quitting - Your added risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's.
- 5 to 10 years after quitting - Your risk of dying from lung cancer, or getting bladder cancer is about half that of a smoker's. Your risk of getting cervical cancer or cancer of the larynx, kidney or pancreas decreases.
- 15 years after quitting - Your risk of coronary heart disease is the same as that of a nonsmoker.
It's never too late to quit smoking, and if you need resources for that, then look no further! Check out the American Lung Association website for more information.
Sources:
0 comments