Author: Aaron Lessen, MD Educational Pearls:  New data shows within 5 years of smoking cessation, the risk of cardiovascular disease becomes half of those who continue to smoke After 10-15 years of cessation, cardiovascular disease rates return to rates seen in non-smokers. Lung disease, COPD, and cancer rates do not decrease quite as rapidly, but do decrease It’s important to remind patients of the long-term health benefits associated with smoking cessation when counseling them. References Duncan MS, Freiberg MS, Greevy RA, Kundu S, Vasan RS, Tindle HA. Association of Smoking Cessation With Subsequent Risk of Cardiovascular Disease. JAMA. 2019;322(7):642–650. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.10298 Summarized by Jackson Roos, MS3 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD