The Benefits of Smoking Cessation
The risks of smoking are clear: chronic lung disease, heart attack, stroke, and cancer. It’s estimated that up to half of all smokers will die from a smoking related disease. The scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports the benefits of smoking cessation, even in older adults who have been smoking for many years. When our patients quit smoking, they are taking a powerful step towards reclaiming their health and longevity. A patient’s health improves within minutes after quitting smoking, and the benefits continue for years:
- 20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate is no longer elevated.
- 1 day after quitting: Your blood carbon monoxide level returns to normal.
- Weeks after quitting: Your risk of poor wound healing and infection after surgery falls on a weekly basis.
- 4 weeks after quitting: Your risk of having a heart attack drops, and your lung function improves.
- 1 year after quitting: Your added risk of coronary heart disease is cut in half.
- 5 years after quitting: Your risk of COPD exacerbation is decreased.
- 5 to 15 years after quitting: Your risk of stroke and cancer decreases significantly.
It is our mission to help our patients quit smoking and enhance their quality of life afterward.
Our Comprehensive Program
At Nimbus Health, we provide a comprehensive smoking cessation program that combines the latest evidence based approaches with a commitment to serious long-term follow up to prevent relapses. At every step of the way, our care is tailored to meet the needs of our patients.
Our experienced counselors address the psychosocial challenges, coping strategies, and behavior modification techniques needed to quit smoking. Our individualized support enhances patient motivation and helps them to develop the skills needed to quit. Together, we create a roadmap to success. We also offer pharmacotherapy including nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and other medications on an individualized basis. Studies show that combining counseling with medication therapy significantly increases quit rates. Our multimodal approach has been proven to help patients quit faster and remain abstinent. (1)
Long Term Follow Up
Unlike traditional smoking cessation programs, at Nimbus we continue to support our patients’ abstinence well after their quit day. In many studies, over 60% of patients relapse within 6 months of quitting (2). Supporting our patients during the maintenance phase helps to prevent relapse, and allows us to implement additional support and therapies if a relapse occurs.