There are many other risks as well. The good news is if you quit, your risk of lung cancer is cut in half after five years of not smoking. Weight gain is often used as a deterrent to stop smoking, however weight gain influenced by smoking cessation is often temporary according to a 1993 study published in the American Journal of Public Health. This weight gain can also be avoided through attitudinal shifts and in fact most people who quit gain very little if any weight. In addition, weight gain that does occur is not likely to negate the benefits of smoking cessation according to a 1991 study, Smoking cessation and severity of weight gain, published in the American Journal of Medicine.
Smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable deaths in America today.