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A Good Idea at Any Age
The Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition
Cindy Roragen,
Executive Director

You know that smoking harms unborn babies, children, teens and adults, but what you may not know is the impact smoking has on seniors.

• Smoking reduces bone density among postmenopausal women.

• Smoking is causally related to an increased risk for hip fractures in men and women.

• Of the 850,000 fractures among those over age 65 in the United States each year, 300,000 are hip fractures. Persons with a hip fracture are 12% to 20% more likely to die than those without a hip fracture.

• Smoking is related to nuclear cataracts of the lens of the eye, the most common type of cataract in the United States. Cataracts are a leading cause of visual loss in the United States. Smokers have two to three times the risk of developing cataracts as nonsmokers.

Science shows us that positive health results are felt within 20 minutes of quitting and, from that point on, it only gets better. One year after a smoker quits, coronary disease risk is half that of a smoker’s. After five years, stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker. And, after ten years of living smoke free, the former smoker’s risk for lung cancer is about half that of a smoker!
Clearly, it is never too late in life to quit smoking. If you are ready to quit now, these tips from the CDC may be useful:

1. Don’t smoke any number or any kind of cigarette. Smoking even a few cigarettes a day can hurt your health. If you try to smoke fewer cigarettes, but do not stop completely, soon you’ll be smoking the same amount again.

2. Really wanting to quit smoking is very important to how much success you will have in quitting. Smokers who live after a heart attack are the most likely to quit for good - they're very motivated. Find a reason for quitting before you have no choice. Write that reason down and post them in a place that you see throughout the day.

3. Know that it will take effort to quit smoking. Nicotine is habit forming. Nearly all smokers have some feelings of nicotine withdrawal when they try to quit. Give yourself a month to get over these feelings. Take quitting one day at a time, even one minute at a time - whatever you need to succeed.

4. Half of all adult smokers have quit, so you can too. That’s the good news. There are millions of
people alive today who have learned to face life without a cigarette. For staying healthy, quitting smoking is the best step you can take.

5. Get help if you need it.
A good place to start is with
a visit to the web site www.tobaccofreenv.com, or a call to the NevadaTobacco Prevention Coalition. , 702-798-6877 X 13.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. 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