What Do You Know About Quitting Smoking?

No matter what your age or how long you have smoked, giving up cigarettes is the ticket to a longer life. Consider that just 12 hours after your last cigarette, the carbon monoxide level in your blood returns to normal. A year after you've quit, your risk of heart disease is half that of a smoker's.

1. The risk for death by heart attack or coronary heart disease decreases by 50 percent how soon after you quit smoking?

A. 20 years B. 10 years C. 3 years D. 1 year

2. What percentage of smokers quit successfully without the help of a physician or counseling program?

A. 20 percent B. 13 percent C. 5 percent D. 0 percent

3. Which of these smoking-cessation methods have proved the most successful statistically?

A. Cold turkey B. Counseling and medications C. Counseling D. Medications

4. Besides increasing the risk of cancer, coronary heart disease and respiratory disease, which other ill effects does smoking have?

A. Premature wrinkling of the skin B. Female infertility C. Hair loss D. A and B

5. The chemical and behavioral processes that lead to nicotine addiction are similar to addiction to which other drug or drugs?

A. Marijuana B. Cocaine C. Heroin D. B and C

6. When did almost all current smokers start the habit?

A. Teenage years B. 20s C. 30s D. 40s and older

7. Of the 19 million smokers who attempt to quit annually, how many succeed?

A. 8 million B. 4.5 million C. 3.5 million D. 1.2 million