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Quit Guide: Thinking About Quitting

What's in a Cigarette?

Your body gets more than nicotine when you smoke.

There are more than 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke. Some of them are also in wood varnish, the insect poison DDT, arsenic, nail polish remover, and rat poison.

The ashes, tar, gases, and other poisons in cigarettes harm your body over time. They damage your heart and lungs. They also make it harder for you to taste and smell things, and fight infections.

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In the Quit Guide...
Thinking about quitting
Why quit?
•What's in a cigarette?
Reasons for quitting
Why is quitting so hard?
Preparing to quit
The basic steps
Medicines that can help
Other support
Quitting
Steps on quit day
Managing cravings
Withdrawal symptoms
What to do if you slip
Staying quit
Sticking with it
Resources if you slip

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Reducing Tobacco Use: A Report of the Surgeon General. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000.

NCI NIH HHS USA.gov