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1. Heart disease

“Very few people know that more Americans die from heart disease than lung cancer as a result of smoking, so it takes a terrible toll,” says Goldbach. “The two most powerful risk factors for heart disease in America are control of hypertension and smoking cessation. These are really powerful levers that we have at our disposal.” [Images: Shutterstock]
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2. Lung cancer

“It’s a strong link between smoking and cancer and much of the lung cancer can be prevented, obviously, from smoking cessation,” he says.
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3. Liver and colorectal cancers

“We now know that there’s a link between smoking and liver cancer, and one of the leading causes of cancer death — colorectal cancer,” says Goldbach. “There’s a causal link between smoking and colorectal cancer.” In addition, he adds, there is suspicion that smoking is potentially linked to breast cancer, “but that’s not as well-proven.”
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4. Stroke and rheumatoid arthritis

Smoking has “a very strong link to [increased risk of] stroke,” he says, as well as links to rheumatoid arthritis. In fact, says Goldbach, almost no organ in the body is spared. “Because smoking has this sort of systemic effect of causing inflammation in the body, it’s one of the reasons they think that the effects are so widespread.”
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5. Coaching is key

Employers shouldn't underestimate the power of coaching when it comes to smoking cessation, says Goldbach. “Offer a structured program so that a person who is now considering smoking cessation — maybe they have been made aware of the program because the employer is offering incentives — looks at the program and they have an opportunity to plan how they’re thinking of quitting. They get to talk it over with someone.”
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6. Get the data

Employers can understand the power of smoking cessation programs through reporting, says Goldbach. “Get a report on how many people get involved, how many are succeeding in quitting and so forth,” he says. “There’s pretty good information out there about productivity and time lost by people who smoke, not just to take their cigarette break but actually to be sick because people that smoke are a lot sicker. … I think the confidence for an employer to know they’re going to get a return on their investment is building now that more and more [data] are coming out.”
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