Quit smoking: benefits immediate
By Hannah Larking
Lance News Editor
June 18, 2008
 University of Windsor has taken another proactive step to lessen the number of smokers on campus. The office of Training and Development in the department of Human Resources recently released an e-digest on the benefits of smoking cessation.
Marcela Ciampa, manager of Training and Development for the Department of Human Resources, organized the publication. “My role is to provide learning opportunities for staff,” Ciampa explained. “One area that staff [we’re] really interested in, is the whole area of wellness.”
Ciampa has worked alongside nursing students to research and gather information on the health effects of smoking along with the immediate and the long-term benefits to butting out. Their hope is to provide the public with enough reasons to consider quitting. And the facts are there.
According to a fact sheet released by the Ontario government in 2006, tobacco-related diseases cost the Ontario economy at least $1.7 billion in healthcare annually and account for at least 500,000 hospital days each year.
The same publication reports that the 16,000 annual Ontarian deaths caused by tobacco-related diseases trump deaths caused by alcohol, car accidents, suicide and murder by six-fold.
Lung cancer is the most prevalent cause of cancer death as it is lethal, with a five-year survival rate of only about 15 per cent. Smoking also causes many other cancers including pancreatic, stomach, bladder, kidney, cervical, esophageal, laryngeal and oral.
In addition to the threat of disease, cancer poses serious threats to reproduction.
Studies have shown that smoking makes it more difficult for a woman to become pregnant, and harms many aspects and every phase of reproduction. Smoking while pregnant can also cause complications including premature birth, low birth-weight infants, stillbirth, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Smoking reduces bone density among most menopausal women. It doubles and triples the likelihood of developing cataracts and causes peptic ulcer disease.
There are long-term benefits of quitting that may seem obvious, such as a decreased risk of cancer, stroke and chronic lung disease, but there are also effects that can be felt much sooner. According to a report entitled “Smoking: A Thing of the Past?” released by Warren Shepell, some effects of butting out are immediate.
The article cites that within eight hours of quitting, carbon monoxide levels drop and oxygen levels rise to normal. Within 48 hours, your chances of having a heart attack begin to decrease and your sense of smell improves. Within 72 hours, your bronchial tubes relax making breathing easier and your lung capacity increases.
Quitting smoking for two to three months improves your circulation and increases lung functioning up to 30 per cent. Quitting smoking for one year cuts the risk of a heart attack in half.
Quitting can be hard, but there is always support available locally at Health Services in the CAW, and even on the Internet. “There are some great tools online that might be of interest to students,” Ciampa said. “Friends are a great support network as well. Smokers tend to treat cigarettes like their friend,” Ciampa explained, “because they see smoking as a method of coping with stress, or as a reward, or simply as something to do when they’re bored.”
According to Shepell’s report, “For some, quitting would be like losing a chum.”
In the long run, the improvements to quality of life make it worth it.
For more information or help on quitting smoking, telephone or e-counseling is available at 1-800-361-5676 or www.smokershelpline.ca
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