Prepare Yourself to Stop Smoking

Smoking decreases your life expectancy by 10 to 12 years on average, according to the American Cancer Society. Smokers between the ages of 35 and 70 have death rates three times higher than those of people who have never smoked.

Smoking dramatically increases your risk of lung cancer and many other cancers, heart disease, stroke, respiratory problems like asthma and many other conditions.

Secondhand smoke causes more than 50,000 deaths a year to nonsmokers -- more than those killed each year in auto accidents -- and those closest to you face the greatest risk. It also increases nonsmokers' risk of lung cancer, heart disease, respiratory problems and many other health problems.

Smoking increases a man's risk of erectile dysfunction (impotence).

Smoking increases your risk of blindness. People who smoke a pack a day more than double their risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in people 65 and older.

Your smoking increases the chances your kids will smoke as well.

Smoking slows recovery from illness and surgery and slows bone and wound healing. "Say you're a healthy 25-year-old smoker who breaks a leg while skiing," says John Banzhaf, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health. "Your recovery will be slower, you're more likely to suffer complications and you're far more likely to come down with a respiratory disease."

Cigarette smoking is an expensive habit.

The benefits of quitting begin almost immediately and continue over time. Your breath smells better and you can taste and smell your food. In 20 minutes, your blood pressure drops to close to normal; after 24 hours, your chance of heart attack decreases; after one to nine months, coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease; after one year, your risk of heart disease is half that of a smoker's; and after 10 years, your risk of dying from lung cancer is half that of a continuing smoker.

It's never too late to quit. "[Quitting] generally does make a difference, even in extreme cases," says Edwin Fisher, head of the division of health behavior research at Washington University and author of the book Seven Steps to a Smoke-Free Life. "So even if someone is being treated for lung cancer, their responsiveness to their treatment is better if they quit smoking."

Cigarette smoke contains 43 cancer-causing chemicals. These include arsenic, a rat poison; benzene, a poisonous gas; polonium-210, a radioactive compound; and formaldehyde, an embalming fluid.

Smoking decreases lung function, making it harder to do everyday things like climbing up stairs and playing with kids.

Smoking during pregnancy triples your baby's risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). It also increases the risk of low-birth-weight babies -- the leading cause of death among infants -- according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Smoking increases your child's risk of developing asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and other respiratory problems; ear infections; behavioral problems; and cancer later in life.