Receipt of Advice to Quit Smoking in Medicare Managed Care-United States, 1998. Effective nicotine cessation treatment includes problem-solving skills training, social support within treatment programs, and nicotine replacement therapy. Facts about Smoking Among U.S. Adults, Dec 1997. A study shows that cessation among minority groups is more likely to succeed if culturally appropriate messages are developed for the media and health education materials and given to targeted physicians . Employees whose workplaces ban smoking quit smoking at higher rates than employees whose workplaces have no restrictions or limited restrictions on smoking.
Quitting smoking has major and immediate health benefits for smokers of all ages.
The excess risk of heart disease caused by smoking is reduced by half after one year off cigarettes. Facts about Smoking Among U.S. Adults, Dec 1997. After 10 years off cigarettes, the risk of lung cancer for former smokers drops to less than one-half that of a continuing smoker. Facts about Smoking Amo ng U.S. Adults, Dec 1997. In five to fifteen years off cigarettes the risk of stroke for former smokers returns to the levels of those who never smoked.