AHA Scientific Position

According to the 2004 Surgeon General's Report, The Health Consequences of Smoking, eliminating smoking can greatly reduce the occurrence of coronary heart disease and other forms of cardiovascular disease. Smoking cessation is important in the medical management of many contributors to heart attack. These include atherosclerosis (fatty buildups in arteries), thrombosis (blood clots), coronary artery spasm and cardiac arrhythmia (heart rhythm problems). Quitting smoking also can help manage several other disorders, especially arteriosclerotic peripheral vascular disease (fatty buildups in peripheral arteries) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

According to the 2004 Surgeon General's Report, tobacco smoking remains the No. 1 cause of preventable disease and death in the United States.

About 23 percent of adult men and 19 percent of adult women smoke. This figure is down considerably from 42 percent in 1965. Changes in smoking habits during the late 1960s, the 1970s and the 1980s have very likely contributed to the drop in cardiovascular deaths that occurred at the same time in the United States.

Why Quit?:

• After one year off cigarettes, the excess risk of coronary heart disease caused by smoking is reduced by half. After 15 years of abstinence, the risk is similar to that for people who've never smoked.^†  
• In 5 to 15 years, the risk of stroke for ex-smokers returns to the level of those who've never smoked.^†
• Male smokers who quit between ages 35 to 39 add an average of 5 years to their lives. Female quitters in this age group add 3 years. Men and women who quit at ages 65 to 69 increase their life expectancy by 1 year.^‡ 

More than four in five smokers say they want to quit. And each year about 1.3 million smokers do quit. With good smoking cessation programs, 20 to 40 percent of participants are able to quit smoking and stay off cigarettes for at least one year.^‡ According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, new, effective clinical treatments for tobacco dependence have been identified in the past decade. Combining interventions such as physician advice and follow-up with nicotine gum and behavior modification may increase success rates. Smoking cessation programs seem especially helpful for people who smoke more than 25 cigarettes a day.

AHA Advocacy Position

The American Heart Association continues to advocate that adequate resources be provided for tobacco cessation programs. While prevention programs may be able to prevent new smokers from ever becoming addicted to nicotine, about one-third of tobacco users will die prematurely because of their dependence on tobacco unless treatment efforts are increased. Tobacco-use cessation or treatment programs offer the best hope for helping these people.

See the Related Items box above for links to the Cardiology Patient Page in Circulation, Journal of the American Heart Association:

• Smoking Cessation Strategies for the 21st Century

Related AHA publications:

• Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update

Related AHA Scientific Statements:
Tobacco/Smoking

^{† 2004 Surgeon General's Report: The Health Consequencees of Smoking
‡ 1990 Surgeon General's Report: The Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation}