We all know smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke and lung diseases (including emphysema and bronchitis). Cigarette smoke contains a deadly mix of more than 7,000 chemicals; hundreds are toxic and about 70 can cause cancer. Tobacco use causes more than 5 million deaths per year and is responsible for about one in five deaths each year in the U.S. The life expectancy of a smoker is approximately 14 years shorter than that of a nonsmoker. Monetary costs are high, too, totaling more than $193 billion in lost productivity and health care.

Thinking of quitting?

Congratulations! Those who stop smoking greatly reduce their risk for disease and premature death, and the coronary heart disease risk is substantially reduced within 1 to 2 years of cessation.

While many cigarette smokers quit without using cessation treatments, the combination of medication and counseling has been found more effective for smoking cessation than either medication or counseling alone. Many over-the-counter and prescription Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) medications, as well as non-nicotine medications, are available and have been found to be effective for treating tobacco dependence. 

Additional support is available through the Cooper Clayton program, a 13 week program which utilizes a trained tobacco cessation facilitator. Contact your local health department or visit http://www.kcp.uky.edu/CC.html.

The Kentucky Tobacco Quit Line is a phone based counseling service available to provide one-on-one counseling with a trained smoking cessation counselor. To learn more about the Kentucky Tobacco Quit Line, call 1-800-QuitNow (800-784-8669). For the hearing impaired, please call 1-800-969-1393.

Several options are available through the Kentucky Employees‘ Health Plan to help you be successful. The Smoking and Tobacco Cessation KEHP Benefit Brochure (PDF - 292 KB) will provide more information on the benefits available.

Additional Resources

• CDC's How to Quit web pages provide a variety of cessation tips, tools and resources.
• Smokefree.gov is a website dedicated to helping smokers quit.