Your Lungs' Lifeline: Why World Lung Cancer Day is Your Wake-Up Call to Quit
- QuitSure Team
- Jul 25
- 5 min read
Every year, on World Lung Cancer Day observed on August 1st health advocates and organisations across the globe unite to raise awareness about lung cancer. This day is not just a commemoration; it’s a powerful reminder of how crucial lung health is and why quitting smoking remains the single most effective step to protect your lungs and overall well-being.
If you or a loved one still smokes, World Lung Cancer Day is your wake-up call to take action before it’s too late. This comprehensive guide explains why quitting smoking is essential, how it affects lung health, and how tools like the QuitSure app can help you on this life-saving journey.
The Startling Truth About Lung Cancer and Smoking
Lung Cancer: The Deadliest of All
Cancer in the lung is the greatest cancer killer all over the world. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), this disease claims the lives of about 1.8 million people annually. That is why it has become the greatest killer of cancer in the world. What is more appalling is that more than 80% of these cases are associated with smoking, which also includes secondhand smoking.
The prognosis remains poor as well, with only 19% of patients surviving five years after the diagnosis. Conversely, breast cancer and prostate cancer will grow to more than 90% survival points upon detection.
Smoking: The Most Wanted
Lung cancer and other diseases of the lungs are brought about by smoking, and this is the most significant factor behind their developments. Cigarette smoke has over 7,000 chemicals, some of which are known to be harmful, and 70 of them are known to cause cancer.
The CDC estimates that smokers have 15 to 30 times increased chances of developing lung cancer as compared to non-smokers. Even when you do not smoke more than five cigarettes in a day, you are still wreaking havoc with your lungs.
Any amount of smoking is unsafe; each cigarette makes you more at risk. It is due to the fact that quitting is the most advantageous thing you can do for your health.
Your Lungs Are Desperate for a Break
Your lungs never rest; they are the ones that assist you to breathe all through the day. However, smoking exposes them to toxins that they should not have been exposed to. This leads to long-term damage.
The leading cause of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), affecting 300 million individuals worldwide, is smoking. It also increases your chances of other severe conditions such as pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, and emphysema.
Every year that you smoke, your lungs turn stiff, scarred, and less capable of delivering oxygen to the rest of your body.
Smoking Affects Every Breath
Smoking gradually kills your lungs, which then pose difficulties breathing as you grow old. Research indicates that it deteriorates lung capability and size even when a person is young. Some even have breathing difficulties in the process of walking or even climbing stairs because not only does smoking debilitate them, but also shortness of breath.
They can also be coughing or wheezing continuously and cannot stop it. The effect of flu and colds is also greater and more frequent among the smokers. These effects can be easily aggravated in the long run as people find daily life difficult and even hazardous to live. By quitting, you give your lungs time to heal.
Why Quitting Smoking Is the Best Gift You Can Give Your Lungs
The good news is that quitting smoking dramatically reduces your risk of lung cancer and improves lung function—even if you’ve smoked for years.
Immediate and Long-Term Benefits of Quitting:
Within 20 minutes: Your heart rate and blood pressure begin to drop to healthier levels.
Within 12 hours: Carbon monoxide levels in your blood return to normal, improving oxygen delivery.
Within 2-12 weeks: Your circulation and lung function improve.
Within 1 year, your risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker.
Within 5 years: Your risk of stroke can fall to that of a non-smoker.
Within 10 years, your risk of dying from lung cancer is about half that of a current smoker.
Within 15 years: Your risk of coronary heart disease is similar to a non-smoker’s.
World Lung Cancer Day: More Than Just a Date on the Calendar
The Global Lung Cancer Coalition created World Lung Cancer Day to highlight lung cancer and to remove the stigma that tends to follow it. The misperception that lung cancer is self-inflicted because of smoking or other misplaced attitudes may be sources of shame and unwillingness to seek treatment, unlike in other cancers.
This day is used to:
Enhance early detection by symptom awareness and screening.
Emphasize the need to give up on smoking as prevention.
Promote investigations and investment in more effective cures.
Assist the lung cancer patient, survivor, and families.
Make World Lung Cancer Day your own reminder in 2021 that it is never too late to quit smoking and take control over your lung condition.
Introducing the QuitSure App: Your Personalised Quit Smoking Companion
If you’re ready to take that critical step towards better lung health, the QuitSure app is designed to help you quit smoking successfully—whether it’s your first attempt or you’ve tried before.
What Makes the QuitSure App Effective?
Personalised Quit Plan: Tailored to your smoking habits and lifestyle.
Progress Tracking: Visual stats showing your smoke-free days, money saved, and health improvements.
Support Community: Connect with others quitting smoking for motivation.
Expert Guidance: Tips and strategies based on scientific research.
Stress Management Tools: Techniques to handle cravings and emotional triggers.
Act This World Lung Cancer Day
On this World Lung Cancer Day, there is no need to wait until you have symptoms or to be threatened. The best step that you can take to go towards taking control of your lung health is by quitting smoking today. The QuitSure app gives you tools, incentives, and support, whether you are ready to quit today or you need help getting ready.
Get the QuitSure app now on your device and begin your quest towards healthier lungs and a smoke-free life. Your lungs will be happy about it.
FAQs
Q1: Does stopping smoking heal the lungs?
A1: There is irreversible damage to the lungs, but other changes that occur within a short period of time after quitting include decreasing inflammation and improved lung function.
Q2: Can one ever be too late to be able to stop smoking?
A2: No! The chance to develop lung cancer and other diseases decreases with any age of stopping.
Q3: What is the early clue of lung cancer?
A3: The warning signs are a cough that does not go away, bloody sputum, chest pains, and difficulty in breathing. It is essential to conduct early screening.
Q4: What will I do to cope with cravings when quitting?
A4: Try distraction, deep breathing, and exercise, and get support through apps such as QuitSure.
Q5: Are e-cigarettes safer than smoking?
A5: E-cigarettes are not as toxic even though they are less dangerous, as they contain toxins and nicotine. The most beneficial thing for the lungs is to quit all products that contain nicotine.
I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH COPD FOUR YEARS AGO. FOR OVER TWO YEARS, I RELIED ON INHALERS AND SEVERAL OTHER MEDICATIONS, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THE SYMPTOMS KEPT GETTING WORSE. MY BREATHING BECAME MORE LABORED, I EXPERIENCED FREQUENT COUGHING FITS, AND MY ENERGY LEVELS STARTED TO DECLINE QUICKLY. LAST YEAR, OUT OF DESPERATION AND HOPE, I DECIDED TO TRY A HERBAL TREATMENT PROGRAM FROM NATUREPATH HERBAL CLINIC. HONESTLY, I WAS SKEPTICAL AT FIRST, BUT WITHIN A FEW MONTHS OF STARTING THE TREATMENT, I BEGAN TO NOTICE REAL CHANGES. MY BREATHING BECAME EASIER, THE COUGHING SUBSIDED, AND, INCREDIBLY, MY ENERGY RETURNED. IT’S BEEN A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE. I FEEL MORE LIKE MYSELF AGAIN BETTER THAN I’VE FELT IN YEARS. IF YOU OR A LOVED ONE…