Smok e and... IT’S Y OUR LIFE,
A DDICTION
Nicotine in cigarettes is a powerful drug that is
addictive and alters how your brain w orks.
W RINK LES
Y OU DECIDE...
Smoking decreases blood fl ow to the skin. This
leads to leathery looking skin and wrinkles.
Qu it a n d....
d..
W ITHIN 8 HOURS
CATA RA CTS Eight hours after your last cigarette, carbon
If you smoke you have a greater chance of monoxide in your body decreases and the level
developing cataracts – an eye problem that of oxygen increases.
can cause blindness.
W ITHIN 48 HOURS
M OUTH CA NCERS
Your sense of smell and taste will start to
Smoking is the main reason people get cancer improve. Your chance of having a heart attack
in their tongues and mouths. Smoking makes starts to decrease.
it harder for your saliva to remove germs in
your mouth. You’ll get stains, bad breath, and
a higher chance of gum disease – even if W ITHIN 72 HOURS
you’re young. W ithin 3 days of quitting your bronchial tubes
start to relax, making breathing easier. Your
THROAT CA NCER lung capacity increases.
A lmost 80% of esophageal cancers are linked
to smoking. A s tobacco smoke enters your W ITHIN 2 W EEK S
throat, cancer-causing chemicals condense on Two w eeks after your last cigarette your blood
your mucous membranes. circulation begins to improve and your lung
functioning increases up to 30% .
SK IN DA M A GE
Tobacco smoke turns your fi ngers yellow and W ITHIN 6 M ONTHS
stains your fi ngernails.
The health of your lungs will improve. Less
coughing, wheezing, congestion and shortness
PSORIA SIS of breath. Your chance of developing an
Smokers are more likely than non-smokers to infection goes down.
develop psoriasis — a disfiguring red and silver
rash that can occur anywhere on your body.
W ITHIN 1-10 Y EA RS
HEA RT DISEA SE A year after your last cigarette your chance of
having a smoking-related heart attack is cut in
Smoking causes heart disease, stroke and
half. W ithin 10 years your risk of dying from
diseases of the blood vessels. Immediately
lung cancer is also cut in half!
after smoking your heart starts to beat faster
and your blood pressure rises. Carbon
monoxide and other gases affect the amount Other good new s…
of oxygen in your blood — your heart has to Cigarettes, lighters, matches and ashtrays — it
work harder to get enough oxygen. all adds up. Quitting means you’ll save money.
No more yellow teeth or fi ngers, smelly
LUNG DISEA SE clothes or stinky hair.
If you smoke you are more likely to die from Cigarettes will no longer control your life. You
lung cancer. In fact, lung cancer is the number can do what you want, when you want — no
one cause of cancer death in A lberta. Smoking need to w orry about fi nding time or a place
can also cause other diseases that permanently for a cigarette.
damage your lungs and airways. Coughing, You’ll have more energy to do the things you
wheezing, decreased lung capacity and having love.
trouble breathing are symptoms of lung disease.
STOM A CH ULCERS
Smokers are more prone to peptic ulcers. They
don’t heal as fast in smokers and they’re more
likely to recur. Smoking is also linked to bowel
disorders (i.e. Crohn’s Disease).