"183 There is no safe cigarette. • The evidence indicates that changing cigarette designs over the last five decades, including filtered, low - tar, and “light” variations, have NOT reduced overall disease risk among smokers and may have hindered prevention and cessation efforts. • The overall health of the public could be harmed if the introduction of novel tobacco products encourages tobacco u se among people who would otherwise be unlikely to use a tobacco product or delays cessation among persons who would otherwise quit using tobacco altogether. Quitting The only proven strategy for reducing the risk of tobacco - related disease and death is t o never smoke, and if you do smoke to quit. Quitting at any age and at any time is beneficial. It's never too late to quit, but the sooner the better. Quitting gives your body a chance to heal the damage caused by smoking. When smokers quit, the risk for a heart attack drops sharply after just 1 year; stroke risk can fall to about the same as a nonsmoker’s after 2 - 5 years; risks for cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder are cut in half after 5 years; and the risk for dying of lung cancer drops by half after 10 years. Smokers often make several attempts before they are able to quit, but new strategies for cessation, including nicotine replacement and non - nicotine medications, can make it easier. Tobacco smoke is a toxic mix of more than 7,000 ch emicals. Many are poisons. When these chemicals get deep into your body’s tissues, they cause damage. Your body must fight to heal the damage each time you smoke. Over time, the damage can lead to disease. The chemicals in tobacco smoke reach your lungs qu ickly when you inhale. What this new report shows is that these same poisonous chemicals reach every organ in your body . They go quickly from your lungs into your blood. Then the blood flows through your arteries. It carries the chemicals to tissues in all parts of your body. Your lungs, blood vessels, and other delicate tissues become inflamed and damaged when you smoke. Smoking Keeps Your Body under Attack If you spilled drain cleaner on your skin, it would hurt and become inflamed. If you did this many times a day, your skin would not have a chance to heal. It would stay red, irritated, and inflamed. The organs in your body also have a lining of cells similar to skin. Chemicals in tobacco smoke cause inflammation and damage to these cells. When you keep smoking, the damage cannot heal. Smoking makes your immune system work overtime. Your body makes white blood cells to respond to injuries, infections, and even cancers. Blood tests show that your white blood cell numbers stay high when you smoke. High numb ers mean that your body is constantly fighting against the damage caused by tobacco smoke. This constant stress disrupts how your body works. New research shows that stress can lead to disease in almost any part of your body. Damage is Immediate. The poisons in smoke pose a danger right away. Sudden blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes can be triggered by tobacco smoke. Poisons in tobacco smoke disrupt the way your body heals itself. Even smoking a cigarette now and then is enough to hurt you. Sitti ng in a"