A healthy lifestyle after quitting smoking offers many benefits – Cleveland Clinic Newsroom

CLEVELAND – November 17 is the Great American Smokeout, a day celebrated every year to encourage people to quit smoking.

According to a recent study, those who quit smoking and adopt a healthy lifestyle can reduce their risk of death.

“This shows that it is not just about quitting smoking. It’s really about making these amazing lifestyle changes that will help you and really reduce your cardiovascular risk, cardiovascular mortality and death from other things, like cancer and respiratory diseases as well,” said Neha Vyas, MD, MD. Family Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. .

The study researchers found that former smokers who were stricter with their body weight, diet, physical activity and alcohol consumption had a lower risk of death, cancer and other diseases. And that was regardless of past smoking patterns.

Dr. Vyas said that people may need to try it several times before they successfully quit. However, he encourages smokers not to give up.

He often tells his patients to avoid any triggering environment where they might be tempted to smoke, such as a bar or a party.

It can also help to create a support system, so you can be held accountable.

“It is important to remember that sometimes it may take more than one attempt to quit completely, so enlist the support of your family, friends and health professionals. There are a lot of resources out there,” she said.

The CDC reports that tobacco is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States. Nearly 40 million adults still smoke cigarettes.

Source: news.google.com