The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released the updated Public Health Service smoking cessation guidelines in June 2000. The American Heart Association supports these guidelines, which offer great hope to the millions of American smokers who would like to quit.

Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: A Clinical Practice Guideline will help to curb the effects of this epidemic that kills more than 440,000 people each year. These guidelines will provide healthcare professionals with the latest information available on effective treatment strategies to help smokers quit their deadly habit.

Implementation of these guidelines will save lives and healthcare dollars. The combined direct and indirect cost of tobacco-related health care expenditures in this country is $157 billion every year. The price tag for attempting to get smokers to quit is far less than the one associated with treating the illnesses caused by tobacco use.

Smoking is this nation's leading preventable cause of death. It significantly increases the risk for coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease. In fact, more than half of all smoking-related deaths in America each year are from heart disease, stroke or other cardiovascular diseases. The good news is that one year after quitting, the risk of heart disease is cut in half. After five to 15 smoke-free years, the risk is similar to that of a person who never smoked.

While we support the Public Health Service guidelines, our ultimate goal should be to find a way to prevent smokers from ever picking up the habit.

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:

• "How Can I Quit Smoking?" in Answers By Heart kit (also in Spanish kit)
• "How Can I Handle the Stress of Not Smoking?" and "How Can I Avoid Weight Gain When I Stop Smoking?" in Answers By Heart kit
• Quit Smoking for Good brochure

Related AHA Scientific Statements:
Tobacco/Smoking