Vim & Vigor - Winter 2019 - CH - 39

STOP SMOKING, REAP THE BENEFITS
Smokers who quit can reap health benefits at any age. The hospitals of
Community Healthcare System offer the American Lung Association's Freedom
From Smoking class to help smokers stop.
The American Cancer Society reports that blood pressure and heart rate can drop
within minutes of quitting. Circulation and lung function may improve in two weeks to a
few months. In one year, the ex-smoker's heart attack risk may be half that of a smoker's.
St. Mary Medical Center Cancer Care Services manager Roxanne Karnes, RN, says
quitting reduces not only lung cancer risk but also the risk of mouth, throat, esophageal
and other cancers.
"Between 80 and 90 percent of lung cancer cases are smoking related," Karnes says.
"Ten years after quitting, your risk of dying from lung cancer is half that of a smoker."
"I Quit! Smoking Cessation" is a low-cost, eight-week program led by an experienced
smoking cessation instructor and respiratory therapist. It offers coping advice, counseling, behavior modification techniques and more.

not attempt to quit smoking cigarettes and will not
use FDA-approved cessation
medications. These individuals should be encouraged
to switch to the least harmful form of tobacco product
possible; switching to the
exclusive use of e-cigarettes
is preferable to continuing
to smoke combustible products," the American Cancer
Society notes in its position
statement on e-cigs. "Of
course, these individuals
should be regularly advised
to completely quit using all
tobacco products."
Smoking even a few conventional cigarettes a day
has a well-documented
relationship to significant increases in the risk

of cancer and heart disease. The long-term health
effects of vaping are
not known.
Douglas says it's important to note that the cessation discussion only applies
to adults, not to youths,
who are particularly vulnerable to nicotine in any form.

TRUE OR FALSE:

Chemicals used to
flavor e-cigarettes
can be harmful.
TRUE. Some chemicals
found in e-cigs can pose
problems, Douglas says. For
example, some e-cig flavoring contains the chemical
diacetyl, which is linked to a
serious lung disease commonly called popcorn lung.

CLASS

Get Support
to Quit
To enroll in Freedom From
Smoking classes, or for class
times, dates and locations,
call 219-836-3477 or toll-free
866-836-3477.

That disease (bronchiolitis
obliterans) damages small
airways in the lungs, causing
coughing and shortness
of breath.
E-cigs also can contain
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are
linked to adverse health
effects ranging from eye,
nose and throat irritation
to liver and kidney damage. The FDA has warned
that some people who
vape-particularly young
people-experienced seizures afterward.
One of the biggest concerns about vaping is that
it's not yet well-studied.
Experts do not have a thorough understanding of
what chemicals make up the

vapor and what effect they
might have on health.

TRUE OR FALSE:

Vaping is not associated with other
tobacco product use.
FALSE. When it comes
to adults, the connection
between vaping and other
tobacco use involves a high
rate of dual usage-smoking
conventional cigarettes and
also vaping.
Among young people,

those who vape are more
likely to progress to smoking conventional cigarettes,
Douglas says.
"That raises a significant
concern, because vaping is
harmful, but cigarette smoking is exponentially worse." ■

WIN TE R 2019

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2019 - CH

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