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QuitNet Worlds Largest Online Smoking Cessation Program Can Help Kick...

This Thursday, Nov. 15, is The Great American Smokeout - a day smokers are encouraged to give up smoking for 24 hours in the hope that realizing this small goal will help enable them to quit for good. Smoking has been recognized as the single most preventable cause of premature death in America - tobacco use is responsible for more than 440,000 deaths in the US each year, and costs the nation more than $75 billion in direct medical expenses and $82 billion in lost productivity.

For those who have been thinking about quitting smoking (www.quitnet.com) is host to a thriving online community of thousands of smokers and ex-smokers who support each other with practical tips and celebrations of milestones.

After only one day without smoking, there are already immediate health benefits:

-    Just 20 minutes after your last cigarette, your blood pressure and pulse rate drops to nearly the level it was before that cigarette, and the body temperature of your hands and feet increases.

-    8 hours after your last cigarette, carbon monoxide levels in your blood drops to normal and the oxygen level in your blood increases to normal.

-    24 hours after your last cigarette, your chance of a heart attack decreases.

Some strategies to be smoke-free for good:

-    Change habits that you associate with smoking. If you typically smoke while talking on the phone, talk in a different room, hold the phone in the other hand, or sit in a different chair. If you usually smoke while sitting in your favorite chair, avoid that chair for a while.

-    Keep busy. Take up a hobby, go to the movies, go for a walk, work around the house, call or visit friends, write letters, read a book ... the possibilities are endless.

-    Keep your hands and mouth occupied. Try sugarless mints or gum, toothpicks, sunflower seeds, carrot and celery sticks, crushed ice, or water. QuitNet members find that typing messages keeps their fingers busy and gets them support during a strong craving.

About Healthways

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