6 Tips to Help You Quit Smoking
Within 20 minutes of quitting, your blood pressure will drop; within 48 hours your ability to taste and smell will improve. In three months, your lung function (the amount and flow of air through your lungs and the amount of oxygen taken in and carbon dioxide breathed out) will increase by up to 30%. By nine months your coughing and shortness of breath will decrease. After a year, your excess risk of coronary artery disease is reduced to half that of your friends who are still smoking.
| 1. | Talk to your physician about medications that can help you quit smoking. |
| 2. | Find a stop-smoking program for help and support. |
| 3. | Fight the urge by going where smoking isn’t allowed and staying around people who don’t smoke. |
| 4. | Reward yourself when you quit. |
| 5. | Keep busy doing things that make it hard to smoke, like yard work, washing dishes, and being more active. |
| 6. | Remind yourself that smoking causes many diseases, can harm others, and is deadly. |
The Heart Institute at Bridgeport Hospital wants you to have a healthy heart! For information about Quit Smart, our proven smoking cessation program, call 1-888-357-2396. |
Back
