Health Information and Helpful Links
Seminole State's Tobacco Free College policy goes into effect on Aug. 26, 2013. To help you prepare to be tobacco free, here's information about tobacco use and the benefits of quitting.
Health Benefits of Quitting Tobacco Over Time
- 20 minutes - reduced heart rate and blood pressure
- 12 hours - normalized level of carbon monoxide in your blood
- 2 weeks to 3 months - improved circulation and lung function
- 1 to 9 months - decreased coughing/shortness of breath and normalized lung functioning
- 1 year - reduced risk of coronary heart disease, though still a greater risk than a nonsmoker
- 1.5 years - reduced risk of stroke
- 10 years - reduced risk of lung, mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix and pancreatic cancer
- 15 years - reduced risk of coronary heart disease to that of a nonsmoker
Source: The Great American Health Challenge, 2007 American Cancer Society, Inc.
The Effects of Secondhand Smoke
In adults who have never smoked, secondhand smoke can cause heart disease and/or lung cancer.
- For nonsmokers, breathing secondhand smoke has immediate harmful effects on the cardiovascular system that can increase the risk for heart attack. People who already have heart disease are at especially high risk.
- Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their heart disease risk by 25–30 percent.
- Secondhand smoke exposure causes an estimated 46,000 heart disease deaths annually among adult nonsmokers in the United States.
- Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their lung cancer risk by 20-30 percent.