BLOOMINGTON – Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. In honor of American Heart Month, take that first step to better protecting your heart and start on your tobacco cessation journey.
“Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your heart health,” said IU Health Community Health Tobacco Prevention Coordinator Kristen Terry. “Stopping this habit is also good for the hearts of the people around you.”
Cigarettes expose the people around you to an estimated 250 toxic or cancer-causing chemicals through secondhand smoke, potentially damaging your heart and theirs. That damage, as reported by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), could lead to cardiovascular disease, which can lead to preventable deaths.
“The death of a loved one can feel like your heart is breaking,” said Terry. “While not all of the 690,000 people who died in the United States in 2020 from heart disease were smokers or even exposed to secondhand smoke, tobacco cessation could help decrease the amount of heartbreak that heart disease causes every year.”
Whether you’ve been a smoker for decades or just smoked your first cigarette, tobacco cessation is vital for your health. And you don’t need to tackle this goal on your own.
Get free assistance from the Indiana Tobacco Quit Line at 1.800.QUIT.NOW or visit QuitNowIndiana.com for more information. For more on local tobacco prevention and control efforts, visit the Tobacco Free Coalition of Monroe County on Facebook.
