| Smoking is the largest single preventable cause of death and disease in Australia. There are around 50 tobacco caused deaths each day, 350 each week, about 18,000 each year. |
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| Every month Australian tobacco companies lose at least 12,000 customers. Ten and a half thousand quit every month! and fifteen hundred die of diseases cause by smoking. |
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| 25% of the Australian population are regular smokers. 80% of them have tried to quit at least once. |
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| A twenty-a-day smoker, aged 30, who started smoking at around sixteen has already breathed a kilo of tar into their lungs. |
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| Tobacco smoke contains over four thousand chemicals, many of which are highly toxic and over 40 of which are known cancer causing substances. There is no safe 'low tar' cigarette and no known safe level of smoking. |
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| Male smokers may produce less sperm and their sperm may have more abnormalities than a non-smokers. Women who smoke take longer to conceive and are more likely to have a miscarriage. |
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| Successfully quitting usually takes a number of attempts. 40% of slip-ups occur in the first three days and 34% within two weeks. In 80% of slip-ups the smoker returns to full time smoking. |
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| After quitting the body can rid itself of nicotine and carbon monoxide within twelve hours and nicotine by-products within a few days. Blood flow to the limbs improves within two months and lungs regain the capacity to clean themselves within three months. |
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| Women smokers who use the pill increase their risk of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases about ten times. |
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| Over 57,000 reports world-wide have examined the link between cigarette smoking and disease - making it the most researched cause of disease ever investigated in the history of biomedical research. |
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| In twelve hours, your blood is free of carbon monoxide. |
| In two days, the nicotine and its by-products are out of your system. |
| In around three months, your lungs regain the ability to clean themselves. |
| In 10 years, your risk of lung cancer is more than halved and continues to decline over time. |
| In a year, your risk of dying from heart disease has halved. |
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| Write down your own personal reasons to quit in the space on the right hand refer to them if you ever feel tempted to light up. |
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| Even the worst cravings only last a few minutes. If you can resist them during this time they will pass. Remember the 4Ds, they may help: |
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| Delay |
| Deep breath, |
| Drink water, |
| Do something else. |
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| Think of quitting as part of a new healthier lifestyle. Try to eat healthier foods and get more exercise, even if it's just taking the stairs instead of the lift, or walking to the shops. |
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| It may also help to cut down on coffee, at least for the first few weeks as without nicotine in your system you absorb twice as much caffeine. The last thing you need when you're trying to beat cravings is to feel jittery and anxious. |
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| See Also - Quit Smoking Guide |
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