Health Tips

Colorado / My Tobacco Use

Tobacco Use

Congratulations on making the decision to decrease your tobacco use! Tobacco use can lead to tobacco/nicotine dependence and serious health problems. Cessation of tobacco products can significantly reduce your risk of suffering from smoking-related diseases.

Smoking cessation is associated with the following health benefits:

• Smoking cessation lowers the risk for lung and other types of cancer.
• Smoking cessation reduces the risk for coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Coronary heart disease risk is substantially reduced within 1 to 2 years of quitting.
• Smoking cessation reduces respiratory symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. The rate of decline in lung function is slower among people who quit smoking than among those who continue to smoke.
• Smoking cessation reduces the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
• Smoking cessation by women during their reproductive years reduces the risk for infertility. Women who stop smoking during pregnancy also reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby.

We have tools and resources in this section that can help you meet your tobacco cessation goals.

To get started, please click on one of the links below. We suggest that you start with My Tips & Tools.

• My Tips & Tools

  Specific tools and tips for helping you decrease your tobacco use.

• Other Resources

  Local, state-wide, and national resources.

• Monitoring My Progress

  Tools to help you keep track of your progress toward your goal.