Celebrate Your Freedom from Tobacco

July 2, 2012

July 4th is a day to celebrate our nation’s independence with friends, family, and fireworks.  But it is also a time to reflect on our freedoms. This Independence Day, we encourage you to celebrate your freedom from tobacco and support a healthier you and a healthier country.

Join the millions of people just like you who successfully live tobacco-free. Find a friend or family member to join your quest, and spread the word that it’s never too late to quit!

More Reasons to Celebrate

Quitting smoking has immediate as well as long-term benefits, reducing risks for diseases caused by smoking and improving health in general.¹

• Within several months of quitting… you can expect substantial improvements in lung function.²
• After one year…your risk of heart attack drops sharply.³
• In two to five years…your stroke risk can fall to about the same as a nonsmoker’s.³
• In five years…your risk for cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder are cut in half.³
• After ten years…your risk for dying of lung cancer is significantly reduced.³

Tobacco and Addiction

Tobacco use can rapidly lead to the development of nicotine addiction, which in turn increases use and prevents people from quitting. Most smokers become addicted as youth, before they realize how easy it is to become addicted to nicotine.

Resources to Quit

Increase your chances of tobacco-free success with evidence-based resources from our federal partners.

• 1-800-QUITNOW (1-800-784-8669)
• Instant Message with LiveHelp
• 5 Keys for Quitting Smoking
• A Step-by-Step Quit Guide
• You Can Quit Smoking
• Watch the winning videos from the Celebrating Smokefree Voices Video Contest.

Spread the Word

• Read and share the research report from NIH: Is Nicotine Addictive?
• Send an eCard from CDC declaring your independence from nicotine addiction.

<-- View all past FDA feature articles here.

References

--------------------------------------------------------------------
_{1- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004 [accessed 2012 June 29].
2- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 1990 [accessed 2012 June 29].
3- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2010 [accessed 2012 June 29]}