Tobacco Use & Chronic Disease

Want to quit using tobacco and improve your chronic condition? Work with a Care Manager.

Each year, smoking tobacco kills more people than all traffic accidents, drugs, alcohol, firearms, and HIV/AIDS. Tobacco, in all forms, also causes many other health issues. These issues can be:

• Heart disease.
• Cancer
• Breathing problems.
• Dental problems.
• Eye and ear problems.
• Bone problems.
• Reproductive problems.

If you have a chronic condition like asthma, diabetes, or COPD, tobacco use can worsen it. Here’s how:

Asthma

When you have asthma and smoke tobacco, you are more likely to have an asthma attack. When you stop smoking tobacco, you will be able to better control your asthma. You may also need less medicine.

COPD

Smoking tobacco when you have COPD makes it much harder for you to breathe. This is because the smoke is  hurting your lungs. Smoking can also cause  bad lung infections. When you stop smoking, the smoke is not hurting your lungs anymore. This should help your breathing. You will also be less likely to get lung infections.

Diabetes

Using tobacco when you have diabetes  makes you have a higher risk of a stroke. Your blood sugar medications or shots may not work as well. If you don’t have diabetes, smoking  may cause you to  get it. People who smoke are up to 40 percent more likely to  get type 2 diabetes than those who don’t smoke. There are other risks to using tobacco when you have diabetes.

Cancer

Tobacco use can cause cancer. You will always be at a higher risk for cancer.

Heart Disease

Tobacco users with heart disease have  twice the risk of having a heart attack than those who don’t use tobacco.  It increases your blood pressure and heart rate, which  hurt your blood vessels. This  adds to your chance of having a stroke. If you stop using, your blood pressure and heart rate go down. Your risk of having a heart attack or stroke also goes down. The damage starts to heal when you stop using.

Tooth Decay and Periodontal Disease

Smokeless tobacco often  has lots of sugar. As you keep it between your cheeks and gums for long time, it can cause severe tooth decay and gum issues. Over time, this could cause your teeth to fall out.

Using tobacco in any form can harm your health and make existing conditions worse. It can even cause new  issues that can lead to death. CareSource is here to help you stop using tobacco and offers rewards for  signing up in the Georgia Tobacco Quit Line.

Through the Georgia Tobacco Quit Line, you will have a free and confidential Quit Coach, online tools, and your own quit guide.

Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-877-270-7867) to get started right away.

The Georgia Tobacco Quit Line can help you take the next steps to quit using these products:

• Cigarettes
• Cigars
• Hookah
• Chewing Tobacco
• E-Cigarettes
• Vaping

Do you speak a different language?
Explore Quit Line phone numbers for the languages below:

• Español [Spanish] – 1-855-DÉJELO-YA
• 中文 [Cantonese & Mandarin (Chinese)] – 1-800-838-8917
• 한국어 [Korean] – 1-800-556-5564
• Tiếng Việt [Vietnamese] – 1-800-778-8440

Helpful Links
Five Ways Quitlines Help
Benefits of Quitting Tobacco
Former Smokers Share Stories