smoking cessation

Smoking cessation — quitting tobacco — is one of the single most powerful things a person can do for their heart, because tobacco harms the cardiovascular system through several routes at once. It injures the artery lining, makes blood more likely to clot, raises blood pressure and heart rate, and lowers the oxygen the blood can carry.

The good news is that risk starts falling soon after quitting and keeps improving. Within a year or two the excess heart-attack risk drops sharply, and over many years much of the cardiovascular danger approaches that of a never-smoker. Quitting also benefits the lungs, circulation and overall life expectancy, and helps existing treatments work better.

Quitting is genuinely hard because nicotine is strongly addictive and relapse is common, so it is best seen as a process rather than a single moment of willpower. Combining behavioural support with proven aids — nicotine replacement or specific medications — substantially improves success, and repeated attempts are normal on the path to lasting freedom from tobacco.