If you are one of the 36 million Americans who smoke cigarettes, chances are you have thought about quitting. For inspiration, read about how smoking affects your health, and get some tips for kicking the habit.

Smoking increases your risk for cancer.

Smoking cigarettes increases your risk for developing certain types of cancer, including lung cancer, bladder cancer and cervical cancer.

Cigarette smoke contains some dangerous chemicals.

Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including dangerous ones like formaldehyde, arsenic and lead. Dozens of these chemicals are known to cause cancer.

Smoking damages your lungs.

Damage to your lungs can cause respiratory symptoms like coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. You increase your risk of diseases like emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD).

Smoking affects fertility.

Women who smoke during pregnancy increase their risk for babies with low birth weight. They also increase their risk for bleeding problems, miscarriage, stillbirth or birth defects.

Are you ready to quit?

Sara Schaub of Aultman’s “Give It Up!” smoking cessation program offers some good news: when you stop smoking, these harmful effects and risk factors are reduced.

“After you quit smoking, your health starts to improve in just one day,” she says. “Your risk of a heart attack decreases, your blood pressure and heart rate return to normal and the level of carbon monoxide in your blood stream goes back to that of a non-smoker.”

But that doesn’t mean quitting is easy. “Most people will average about six to nine attempts in order to be successful.” The most important thing is taking that first step and making an attempt to quit. She offers some helpful tips to get started:

• Set up a plan to include a quit date, identifying medication which might help you be successful like the patch or Chantix, and putting together a tool kit to help you stay smoke free.
• Quit with a buddy.
• Enlist the support of a good friend.
• Join a support group like Aultman’s Give It Up!

If you need help creating a plan, Aultman’s Give it Up! program offers free tobacco cessation classes. The group sessions, held once a week for six weeks, are led by tobacco treatment specialists like Sara. To learn more, call 330-363-QUIT (7848) or visit aultman.org/giveitup.