HHS HealthBeat (February 7, 2013)

Getting your decade back

Take the Next StepQuit Smoking Today

Research indicates that people who quit smoking before age 40 can get back almost all of the lifespan that statistics say they can expect to lose if they keep smoking. For a person around 30 or 40, that works out to about a decade. People who quit later can expect to get back some but not all of the decade. Most of the gain was in lower risk of heart disease death.
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Quit Now

If you or someone you know is thinking about quitting, there are tools and resources available from Smokefree.gov:

Get on the Path to a Healthier You

Smoking health infographic. For a text-version of the information displayed on the infographic, use the link after the image.

Infographic text-only version.

Help Someone Quit

For Parents and Educators

Help for Smokers and Other Tobacco Users
This Public Health Service (PHS) guide, provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), outlines concrete steps to help smokers and other tobacco users quit.
Smokefree Teen
This National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), site provides age-appropriate content, social media pages, and free mobile apps to help teens quit.
Youth Tobacco Cessation: A Guide for Making Informed Decisions
This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) resource provides guidance on developing programs to get teens to quit tobacco.

For Health Professionals

A Practical Guide to Working with Healthcare Systems on Tobacco-Use Treatment
This CDC resource provides key information and practical advice for public health professionals and employers on understanding healthcare systems, improving tobacco dependence treatment, and increasing cessation.
CDC’s Primary Care and Public Health Initiative: Seizing a Golden Opportunity to Help Smokers Quit
This CDC resource includes an educational module, teleconference materials, and resources for health care providers.
Cigarette Smoking: Health Risks and How to Quit This NCI resource provides information on tobacco cessation guidelines and pharmaceutical options for quitting.
Helping Smokers Quit: A Guide for Clinicians
This PHS guide, provide by AHRQ, provides step-by-step guidance to advise your patients to quit, assess their readiness, and assist them with a quit plan.
Quick Reference Guide for Clinicians
This PHS guide, provided by AHRQ, summarizes the Clinical Practice Guidelines.
Quitting Helps You Heal Faster: Your Hospital Visit Is a Great Time to Quit SmokingThis PHS resource, provided by AHRQ, can be shared with your patients during hospital stays to encourage them to stop smoking.
Smoking in Cancer Care
This NCI resource describes the risks of continued smoking in adult cancer patients.
Support and Advice from Your Prenatal Care Provider (PDF version - 538 KB)
Clinicians can use this PHS consumer tear sheet, provided by AHRQ, as part of counseling about tobacco cessation.
Support and Advice from Your Primary Care Provider (PDF version - 60 KB)
Clinicians can use this PHS consumer tear sheet, provided by AHRQ, as part of counseling about tobacco cessation.
Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update (Clinical Practice Guideline)
Sponsored by PHS, and provided by the National Library of Medicine, part of the NIH, this guideline contains strategies and recommendations for health care professionals to deliver and support treatments for tobacco use.