Quit Smoking: 7 Myths That May Be Keeping You From Quitting Smokers hang on to a variety of myths that ultimately keep them addicted. The fact is that there's no good reason to keep puffing. Any way you look at it, tobacco causes multiple types of cancer, heart disease, cataracts and pneumonia, and shaves years off your life. Every year, nearly 450,000 Americans die of tobacco-related illness. Fortunately, research has conclusively shown that smokers can successfully quit with proper treatment, from behavioral therapy to nicotine replacement systems to medications. To debunk the common myths that keep smokers smoking, we spoke to Iyaad Hasan, medical director of the Cleveland Clinic Tobacco Treatment Center. View the 7 Myth Slideshow >> 1. Quitting Will make me gain weight The fear of weight gain keeps many people smoking. The fact is, smokers do gain, on average, between five and 10 pounds when they quit. Physiological and psychological changes happen when a person quits. Many mistake a craving for nicotine as a craving for hunger, while others use food as a coping mechanism. However, weight gain is not inevitable; quitting can actually open up new possibilities. If you're able to exercise and make that your next obsession, you increase metabolism, up your stamina and raise your lung function," says Hasan. f you need help keeping off the pounds, consider joining a weight-loss support group. A Northwestern study showed that those who found a group of like-minded, health-focused people were less likely to gain weight and 29 percent more successful at quitting smoking. 2. Smoking Just a Few Cigarattes a Day is Okay "People feel, 'Well, I have gone from 20 cigarettes to three cigarettes so I have quit,'" says Hasan. "No, you haven't quit if you continue to expose yourself to this cancer-causing product." A long-ranging Norwegian study, which tracked 43,000 men and women for nearly 30 years, found that women who smoked between one and four cigarettes daily were five times more likely to die of lung cancer than nonsmoking women; men who were also "light" smokers were almost three times more likely to die of lung cancer. Both men and women were nearly three times as likely to die of coronary artery disease. Simply put, there is no safe cigarette or level of exposure. 3. Quitting is Expensive Financially, quitting makes sense. New York State lawmakers raised the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.60, resulting in a total tax of $4.35, which means New Yorkers will soon be paying approximately $11 for each pack. A resident who smokes a pack a day is paying about $4,000 annually to support his habit. Even in locales with a lower tax, smokers pay thousands to keep tobacco companies in business. At the Cleveland Clinic, Hasan's pack-a-dayers burn through $2,000 a year. On the high end, Hasan estimates the cost of quitting as $600 for the gums, patches and medications you might need. Not only are you saving about $1,400 the first year, but you're saving thousands in the future. Bonus savings: Your life. 4. My Smoking Harms Only Me Secondhand smoke actually harms those around you, since they're also inhaling the 4,000 chemicals that your cigarette gives off. Studies have shown that the nonsmoking spouses of smokers have a 20 to 30 percent increased risk of lung cancer and a 25 to 30 percent increased risk of heart disease. Research out of the UK showed that babies whose parents smoke are more likely to end up in the hospital, and low-birth-weight babies whose parents smoke are 75 percent more likely to need hospital treatment for respiratory illnesses and meningococcal diseases like meningitis by age eight. Children are also more vulnerable to asthma when they live with a smoker. Of the nonsmokers who die from lung cancer each year in America, 3,000 die from secondhand smoke. 5. Cigars And Chewing Tobacco Are Safe Alternatives To Cigarettes Cigar consumption has gone up in recent years, while cigarette consumption has gone down -- in part due to a belief promoted by tobacco company marketing departments that cigars and chewing tobacco are less harmful than cigarettes. Another reason could be that these products are not taxed as heavily as cigarettes. A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that pipe and cigar smokers had significantly decreased lung function. Cigars have more cancer-causing tar per gram than cigarettes and a higher concentration of toxins. Cigar smokers have a heightened risk of developing lip, tongue, mouth, larynx, esophageal and lung cancer, as well as heart disease. Worse, a cigar is the equivalent of 20 cigarettes, so a person who smokes a single cigar has just taken in a full pack of cigarettes. "If someone says they smoke five cigars a day, I have to treat them like a two-and-a-half-pack-a-day smoker," says Hasan. Chewing tobacco, meanwhile, is highly addictive, since one pinch has the nicotine of five cigarettes and is full of salt and sugar. Risks of chewing tobacco include cancer of the mouth, throat, cheek, gums, tongue, neck, jaw, face and lips, the treatment for which can leave a person disfigured. Chewing also increases your likelihood of developing pancreatic and kidney cancers, and causes cavities and gum disease, precancerous lesions to the mouth and heart disease. 6. I've Smoked For So Long; Why Bother Quitting Now? A seminal Duke University study of 21,000 Americans showed that if you quit before age 35, you can expect to live as long and as well as a nonsmoker. But that doesn't mean there's no reason to quit at 50, 60 or even 70. "For any age group, there are years gained back," says Hasan. "You gain quality of life and health benefits." An older smoker, who is beginning to fully experience the ill effects of smoking, will see her chronic cough disappear, her stamina soar and her lung function improve. Quitting can arrest the progress of chronic emphysema. Within just 20 minutes of smoking the last cigarette, the risk of heart attack, stroke and cancer begins to decrease. 7. I'm Not Really Hooked; I Can Quit At Any Time Nicotine is more addictive than heroin, cocaine and alcohol. "I say to someone, if you're not hooked, then quit right now for a month," says Hasan. "They can't because it's more than a ritual and behavioral habit -- it's mental and physical." Nearly 70 percent of smokers want to quit, but only four to seven percent actually manage to do so without help. That's because once nicotine, a component of tobacco, reaches the brain, it heads through reward pathways, increasing dopamine levels and giving the smoker a feeling of pleasure. The effects dissipate rapidly, leaving the smoker craving the pleasure-causing substance once again. Other chemicals in cigarettes are also thought to cement addictions. Smokers are often emotionally addicted and may need professional help in the form of therapy or a support program to learn to manage stress without tobacco.