Take the Challenge

How much do you know about smoking bans? Answer these questions and find out.

Why Should I Quit?
What Can I do to Quit?
How Can I Convince My Parents to Quit?
Peer Pressure

DID YOU KNOW?

Within 20 minutes after you smoke that last cigarette, your body begins a series of changes that continue for years. Need more reasons to quit?

 

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Why Should I Quit?

Youth Mourning at the Tombstone

The Benefits of Quitting
Within 20 minutes after you smoke that last cigarette, your body begins a series of changes that continue for years.

20 Minutes After Quitting

  • Your heart rate drops

12 hours After Quitting

  • Carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal

2 Weeks to 3 Months After Quitting

  • Your heart attack risk begins to drop
  • Your lung function begins to improve

1 to 9 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 Years After Quitting

  • Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker’s 5-15 years after quitting

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10 Years After Quitting

15 Years After Quitting

Need more reasons to quit?
Check out this video: The Health Consequences of Smoking

Are you ready to quit now?

references | updated: 09.12.2007

references

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March 2004 from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco.
  2. American Cancer Society. Retrieved March 2004 from http://www.cancer.org.
  3. Tobacco Free Kids. Retrieved March 2004 from http://www.tobaccofreekids.org.
  4. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved March 2004 from http://www.mayoclinic.com.
  5. Health Canada. Retrieved March 2004 from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/tobacco/youth/quit/quit.html.
  6. The Foundation for a Smokefree America. Retrieved March 2004 from http://www.anti-smoking.org.
  7. Children Opposed to Smoking Tobacco. Retrieved March 2004 from http://www.costkids.org.
  8. DiClemente CC, Prochaska JO, Fairhurst SK, Velicer WF, Velasquez MM, Rossi JS. The process of smoking cessation: an analysis of precontemplation, contemplation, and preparation stages of change. J Consult Clin Psychol 1991; 59: 295-304.

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