Here’s a scary new stat to swallow: smoking causes half a million deaths each year in the US, killing slightly more men than women . For this report, Dr. Brian Rostron, then of the University of California, Berkeley, tracked data that asked 250,000 people if and how much they smoked currently and in the past. The participants were monitored for two to nine years following the initial survey, and by the time it ended in 2006, about 17,000 of them had died. Based on this figure, Rostron calculated that there were an average of about 290,000 smoking-related deaths in men each year between 2002 and 2006 and 230,000 in women – a total

of over half a million deaths. Have I got your attention yet? This is an epidemic. If you are asking yourself, why should I quit now? Quitting can help you live longer and be healthier - no matter how long you’ve smoked. Just some of the benefits include having a better quality of life, fewer illnesses like the flu and cold, and experiencing lower rates of bronchitis and pneumonia. Here is a full list of the health benefits you’ll experience if you quit smoking now . Keep reading to learn how you can quit smoking.

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Smoking Deaths on the Rise: Here’s How to Quit Once and For All