Who's Winning the 2016 US Presidential Election

The 2016 race that began 595 days ago and involved 22 major candidates is expected to end Tuesday as millions of voters head to the polls across the U.S. to cast their ballots for president, vice president, their representatives in Congress and other elected officials.
On Monday, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state and former first lady, held a small 4-percentage-point lead over GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, according to a CBS News poll measuring the state of the race before the polls opened. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, is Clinton’s vice presidential nominee and Republican Gov. Mike Pence is Trump’s running mate. Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein are two independent candidates who will appear on some or all ballots. Evan McMullin is another independent candidate who could perform well in his home state of Utah.

In order to win the presidency, a candidate must win 270 electoral votes -- a majority of the 538 electors. CBS News will be keeping an eye on 13 battleground states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

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3:12 a.m. ET CBS News projects Trump wins the 2016 presidential election.
3:04 a.m. ET Donald Trump just finished speaking to his reporters at the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan, declaring victory in the presidential race and confirming that Clinton had conceded.
“I just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us on our victory and I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign,” he said. “To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.”
“I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans and this is so important to me,” he added.
Trump pledged to fix the “inner cities,” and rebuild highways, cities, airports, schools and more.
“We will double our growth and have the strongest economy everywhere in the world,” he said. “We must reclaim our country’s destiny and dream big and bold and daring.”
He thanked all of his family members and advisers as well as the Secret Service.
“To be really historic, we have to do a great job. I look very much forward to being your president,” said Trump, who then hinted he might be interested in serving as president for two terms.
-- CBS News’ Rebecca Shabad
2:52 a.m. ET CBS News projects that Trump has won Pennsylvania.
2:49 a.m. ET CBS News projects Trump wins Wisconsin.
2:42 a.m. ET CBS News’ Major Garrett reports that Clinton called Trump to concede, per a senior Trump aide. The Clinton campaign has not confirmed it yet.
2:21 a.m. ET CBS News projects that Trump wins Maine’s 2nd congressional district, which means he’s won one electoral vote so far in the state.
2:01 a.m. ET Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta just came out to speak to reporters at the Javits Center and said they’re going to wait it out until the votes are counted.
“It’s been a long night and it’s been a long campaign. I can say we can wait a little longer. They’re still counting votes and every vote should count. We’re not going to have anything more to say tonight,” he said.
2:00 a.m. ET CBS News projects Clinton wins Maine.
1:55 a.m. ET Trump effect? Canada’s immigration website crashes amid U.S. election uncertainity
The Canadian government website for immigration crashed Tuesday night as Americans on both side of the political divide experienced anxiety over the presidential election. And Google reported web search terms like “Canada immigration” spiked as the GOP candidate did unexpectedly well in the presidential election.


“It’s been a long night and it’s been a long campaign. I can say we can wait a little longer. They’re still counting votes and every vote should count. We’re not going to have anything more to say tonight,” he said.
2:00 a.m. ET CBS News projects Clinton wins Maine.
1:55 a.m. ET Trump effect? Canada’s immigration website crashes amid U.S. election uncertainity
The Canadian government website for immigration crashed Tuesday night as Americans on both side of the political divide experienced anxiety over the presidential election. And Google reported web search terms like “Canada immigration” spiked as the GOP candidate did unexpectedly well in the presidential election.


In New Hampshire, where the number of votes separating Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump has been as low as 34 votes at one point Tuesday night and remains locked at 47 percent each, the rules are fairly liberal. Any candidate can call for a recount if the margin is within 20 percent.
“Any candidate for whom a vote was cast for any office at a state general election may apply for a recount, provided that the difference between the votes cast for the applying candidate and a candidate declared elected is less than 20 percent of the total votes cast in the towns which comprise the office to be recounted,” according to New Hampshire election law.
Pennsylvania demands a margin of 0.5 percent, and a recount would be triggered by the secretary of state. “A candidate for a public office which appears on the ballot in every election district in this Commonwealth was defeated by one-half of a percent or less of the votes cast for the office,” the law says. Nearing 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, Trump led Clinton there 48.5 percent to 47.9 percent.

In Michigan, there’s a mandatory recount triggered by a difference of 2,000 votes or less. But any candidate suspecting there’s either fraud or a mistake can petition for a recount. At 12:52 a.m., Clinton lagged behind Trump by 52 thousand votes -- 1.785 million to 1.837 million.
Like Michigan, Wisconsin also allows any candidate to request a recount if fraud or a mistake is suspected. The candidate has three days to make the request and has to foot the bill if the margin between the candidates exceeds a half percent.
Minnesota has tight requirements for a federal recount -- a losing candidate can request a recount if the margin is a razor thin quarter of a percent. Also, since 2008, all recounts in Minnesota are to be conducted manually.

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Colombia referendum: Voters reject Farc peace deal

Voters in Colombia have rejected a landmark peace deal with Farc rebels in a shock referendum result, with 50.24% voting against it.

The deal was signed last week by President Juan Manuel Santos and Farc leader Timoleon Jimenez after nearly four years of negotiations.
But it needed to be ratified by Colombians in order to come into force.
Addressing the nation, President Santos said he accepted the result but would continue working to achieve peace.
He said the current ceasefire remained in place and that he had ordered negotiators to travel to Cuba to consult Farc leaders on the next move.
"I won't give up," he said. "I'll continue the search for peace until the last moment of my mandate because that's the way to leave a better country to our children."
Meanwhile the Farc leader, known as Timochenko, said the group remained committed to securing an end to the war.
He also criticised the No campaign.
"The Farc deeply regret that the destructive power of those who sow hatred and revenge have influenced the Colombian people's opinion," he told reporters.
The rebels earlier agreed to lay down their weapons after 52 years of conflict to join the political process.
But critics said the deal treated the Farc, which the US still considers a terrorist group, too leniently.
The deal would have allowed rebel leaders to avoid a prison sentence if they confessed their crimes. The rebels were also promised 10 seats in congress for the next two elections.

• Who are the Farc?
• President Santos: From hawk to dove
• Guerrilla leader who talks peace
• Contentious points in peace deal

  

  he deal would have brought an end to one of the world's longest-running insurgencies

   

The result of the vote was much closer than expected and shocked many Colombians

The agreement was rejected with 50.2% of voters against it and 49.8% in favour - a difference of less than 63,000 votes out of 13 million ballots.
The surprise result means the peace process is now shrouded by uncertainty.
Former President Alvaro Uribe, who headed the "no" campaign, said all Colombians wanted peace, but that the deal needed "corrections".
"We want to contribute to a national accord and be heard," he said.

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Analysis - BBC South America correspondent Wyre Davies
This was arguably the most important vote in Colombia's history and the government had hoped that the promise of peace would have persuaded a majority of voters to accept the agreement.
But with fears that too many concessions have been made to the guerrillas, by less than half of 1%, the people of Colombia rejected the agreement (although voter turnout, at only 40%, was remarkably low).
Speaking on national television shortly after the result was announced, President Santos said that a previously announced ceasefire will hold and that both sides would meet in the Cuban capital, Havana, to decide on a way forward.
While there's clearly a will across Colombia to end more than half a century of violence, the terms of the deal still worry many Colombians.

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President Santos had previously warned that there was no plan B for ending the war, which has killed 260,000 people.
The result of the vote is a major setback to the president, who since his election in 2010 had pledged to end a conflict blamed for displacing about eight million people.
Less than a week ago, he was celebrating with world leaders and Farc commanders the end of Latin America's last and longest-running armed conflict at a ceremony in the historic city of Cartagena.

Some people began celebrating as soon as it was clear the no vote had prevailed in the referendum

Supporters of the peace deal with Farc rebels were left dumbfounded by the referendum result

The rebels were making plans to lay down their weapons and become a political party within six months.
But the president is now facing one of the most difficult moments in Colombia's recent history, says the BBC's Americas Editor Leonardo Rocha.

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The Farc's 52-year fight

Image copyright Reuters

1964: Set up as armed wing of Communist Party
2002: At its height, it had an army of 20,000 fighters controlling up to a third of the country. Senator Ingrid Betancourt kidnapped and held for six years along with 14 other hostages
2008: The Farc suffers a series of defeats in its worst year
2012: Start of peace talks in Havana
2016: Definitive ceasefire

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The 297-page peace deal is a deeply divisive issue in Colombia, and the government has been accused of taking victory for granted.
The referendum campaign spent heavily on television adverts in addition to staging concerts and peace rallies throughout the country in a bid to get people out to vote.
It called on the support of U2's Bono and former Beatle Ringo Starr - and for the first time in an election made ballots available in Braille so blind Colombians could vote.

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US election: Who won the first debate?

It was a battle between the lawyer and the salesman, and for the most part the lawyer came out on top.

It may be hard to remember, but before Mrs Clinton was a secretary of state, or a senator or a first lady, she was a lawyer - and, by all regards, a talented one.
And after all these years, she still campaigns like one. Meticulous, cautious, controlled. What works in the courtroom, with its rules and customs, often doesn't fly in free-wheeling political debates, however.
Mr Trump, on the other hand, is the consummate salesman. Rules, tradition, even the truth are only relevant in so much as they help seal the deal.
The weakness of this approach is the perception that the salesman is all talk and no substance - a problem that can be exacerbated by 90 minutes under the debate spotlights.
In the end, the lawyerly preparations paid off for Mrs Clinton, as she controlled the evening with forensic precision.
While Mr Trump had a strategy - and pursued it on occasion - he was often blown off course by the former secretary of state and torpedoed by his own sometimes badgering performance.
While Mrs Clinton was occasionally prone to know-it-all-ness - particularly in her repeated appeals to outside fact-checkers - she largely maintained the upper hand.
Here are three ways she scored points, two times Mr Trump gained an edge and one very important wildcard.

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Tax dodge

After a give-and-take on economic plans, the topic turned to one specific set of tax returns - Mr Trump's - and why he won't follow longstanding presidential candidate precedent and release his own.
After the Republican repeated an old, since debunked excuse that he can't release them while he's being audited by the Internal Revenue Service (which, he says, has been auditing him for 15 years, by the way), Mrs Clinton went on the attack.
Her key line: "I think probably he's not all that enthusiastic about having the rest of our country see what the real reasons are, because it must be something really important, even terrible, that he's trying to hide."
Takeaway: The lawyer did her homework.
What's in Donald Trump's tax returns?

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Trading blows

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Media captionTrump: Nafta is 'Single worse deal ever approved'

Before Mr Trump got derailed on his taxes - and after Mrs Clinton's jab, he spent much too long trying to explain himself - the debate was actually going pretty well for him.
The economic discussion featured the kind of give-and-take on trade deals, including Mrs Clinton's past support for the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, that will work to Mr Trump's advantage in industrial states hollowed out by manufacturing jobs moving overseas.
His key line: "You go to New England, you go to Ohio, Pennsylvania, you go anywhere you want, Secretary Clinton, and you will see devastation where manufacture is down 30, 40, sometimes 50%. Nafta is the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere, but certainly ever signed in this country."
Takeaway: A salesman knows a bad deal when he sees it.

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Birther blues

 

If Mrs Clinton had the upper hand in the first round of the debate by putting Mr Trump on his heels when it came to tax returns, the second round proved to be equally inhospitable terrain for the Republican.
The issue was race relations in the US, and it was at that point that Mr Trump had to answer for being the leading voice questioning the authenticity of President Barack Obama's US citizenship.
Mr Trump once again tried to blame Mrs Clinton's 2008 campaign for starting the rumours - an assertion roundly dismissed by fact-checkers - and said he deserves credit from Mr Obama and black voters for settling the issue.
Mrs Clinton would have none of it, using the moment to turn up the heat on her opponent.
Her key line: "He has really started his political activity based on this racist lie that our first black president was not an American citizen. There was absolutely no evidence for it, but he persisted, year after year, because some of his supporters, people that he was trying to bring into his fold, apparently believed it or wanted to believe it."
Takeaway: The lawyer had the chance to come to the defence of Mr Obama, whose popularity is currently higher than either of the two candidates on the stage.

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Inside-out

Throughout the debate, when he wasn't being goaded into responding to Mrs Clinton's carefully planned barbs, Mr Trump played up that he is the outsider and Mrs Clinton is too closely tied to the unpopular establishment and the status quo.
With polls showing upwards of 70% of the American public unhappy with the direction of the country, being the agent of change is in the political sweet spot. Add to that the natural inclination of the American public to switch direction after one party has been in the White House for eight years, and it is clear this is a potentially winning way for Mr Trump to frame the ballot-box choice for Americans.
Mr Trump's key line: "You've been doing this for 30 years. Why are you just thinking about these solutions right now?"
Takeaway: A good salesman knows when the customer wants a new product.

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Temper, temper

 

Toward the end of the debate, discussion turned to the question of presidential temperament and stamina. Who had it, and who didn't? Mr Trump, who seemed increasingly frazzled as the evening stretched on, saw this as a moment to attack. He questioned Mrs Clinton's judgement, her "look" and her stamina.
Mrs Clinton, after saying that her international travels as secretary of state, her efforts in diplomatic negotiations and her marathon congressional testimony showed she had the endurance to be president, asserted that Mr Trump's attacks were evidence of his sexist behaviour.
Mrs Clinton's key line: "You know, he tried to switch from looks to stamina. But this is a man who has called women pigs, slobs and dogs, and someone who has said pregnancy is an inconvenience to employers, who has said women don't deserve equal pay unless they do as good a job as men."
Takeaway: The lawyer had the salesman sputtering, complaining about her negative advertising, how she wasn't being nice and how was still doing well in the polls. It wasn't a good look for him.

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The Holt factor

 

And for the final X factor. The Lester Holt factor. Much had been made of how the NBC presenter would handle the debate and whether he would serve as a real-time fact-checker or take a more hands-off approach. One NBC staffer said Holt wouldn't be a "potted plant" - and that was definitely the case.
In all the above points, the opening for Mrs Clinton's advantage was set by the moderator. He first brought up Mr Trump's taxes. He asked about the Obama "birther" controversy. He pushed Mr Trump on the Iraq War and brought up his comment about her "look", which led to the extended discussion of presidential temperament and judgement.
Mrs Clinton's weaknesses - particularly her use of a private email server and potential conflicts of interest in her charitable foundation - were barely discussed.
If the winner of political conflict is dictated by the ground on which it is fought, then most of the debate was contested on terrain that was favourable to the Democrat.
Some of that was her own effective strategy and preparation; the lawyer's advantage. Some of it was Mr Trump's missteps and meandering; the salesman's failure to move his product.
A lot of it, however, was Holt's doing. That will have Democrats smiling and Trump supporters howling.
Who is moderator Lester Holt?

Related Topics

• Donald Trump
• Hillary Clinton

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Kashmir attack: Pakistan hits back at India accusations

The militant attack was the deadliest on Indian security forces in Kashmir in years

Pakistan has hit back after India accused it of masterminding a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 18 soldiers.

A statement from Pakistan's foreign ministry condemned the "vitriolic statements" by India.
It called India's stance a "blatant attempt" to deflect attention from human rights abuses in Kashmir.
Indian Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh called Pakistan a "terrorist state" soon after Sunday's attack.
Seventeen soldiers died in the raid. One soldier succumbed to his injuries on Monday, taking the death toll to 18.
The attack comes as violent protests against Indian rule in the disputed region continue, with a curfew imposed.
More than 80 people, nearly all anti-government protesters, have died in more than two months of violence.
India held a high-level meeting to discuss an "appropriate response" to Sunday's attack - the worst on its security forces in Kashmir in years.
Local media reported that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and several top level government officials attended the meeting, held at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official residence.
Both India and Pakistan claim all of Muslim-majority Kashmir in its entirety but only control parts of it.

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The recent unrest in Kashmir explained
Indian army's anger over Kashmir killings
What's behind Kashmir's deadliest militant raid in years?
Viewpoint: Living in the shadow of Kashmir
Viewpoint: Why mass funerals spark violence in Kashmir
Why July's Kashmir Killings could have been avoided
Concern over Kashmir police's pellet guns
Kashmiri Hindus: Driven out and insignificant
Kashmir profile

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'Deeply disappointed'

Earlier, Mr Singh said on Twitter that "there are definite and conclusive indications that the perpetrators of the Uri attack were highly trained, heavily armed and specially equipped".
"I am deeply disappointed with Pakistan's continued and direct support to terrorism and terrorist groups," he said.
Indian army military operations head Lieutenant-General Ranbir Singh said there was evidence the attackers were members of an Islamist militant group in Pakistan.
The terrorists had "some items which had Pakistani markings on", he said.

Image caption India has blamed Pakistan for the attacks 

 

 

Image caption The attack has caused anger in India

Pakistan's latest statement said that the situation in Indian-administered Kashmir was "not of Pakistan's making but a direct consequence of illegal Indian occupation and a long history of atrocities".
It added that India's decision to blame Pakistan without conducting an investigation was "deplorable".
The attack has caused a great deal of anger in India, with many calling on the government to "strike back".
#UriAttacks was trending on Twitter in India for much of Sunday and Monday, with many calling for action against Pakistan.

The militants infiltrated across the Line of Control from Pakistan before attacking the base, west of Srinagar, an army officer told the BBC on Sunday.
Gunfire and explosions were heard for several hours.
All four of the attackers were killed. Carrying guns and grenades they stormed a base in Uri, close to the Line of Control with Pakistan-administered territory in a pre-dawn ambush.

Image copyright EPA

Image caption An India army helicopter flies above the base after the attack

Image copyright AP

Image caption Street demonstrations were sparked in July after a popular militant leader was killed

Many tents and temporary shelters caught fire during the attack, according to the army's Northern Command.
Twelve soldiers were killed by fires and the others died on Sunday in gun battles, the Hindustan Times reports, citing army sources.
Disputed Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan for more than 60 years, causing two wars between the neighbours.
A militant attack on an army camp in Uri in December 2014 saw at least nine members of the security forces killed.
The last attack of this scale on the Indian army was in June 2015 in Manipur, north-east India, when at least 20 soldiers were killed in an attack on a troop convoy.

Related Topics

• Pakistan

 

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Hardware hack defeats iPhone passcode security

Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people at an office party on 2 December

IPhone passcodes can be bypassed using just £75 ($100) of electronic components, research suggests.

A Cambridge computer scientist cloned iPhone memory chips, allowing him an unlimited number of attempts to guess a passcode.
The work contradicts a claim made by the FBI earlier this year that this approach would not work.
The FBI made the claim as it sought access to San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook's iPhone.

Cheap trick

Farook and his wife killed 14 people in the California city last December before police fatally shot them.
The FBI believed his iPhone 5C contained information about collaborators, but its security system prevented easy access.
The agency pressured Apple to give it a software backdoor into the phone, and, when it refused, reportedly paid $1m to a security company to retrieve data from the phone.
Now, Dr Sergei Skorobogatov, from the University of Cambridge computer laboratory, has spent four months building a testing rig to bypass iPhone 5C pin codes.
In a YouTube video, Dr Skorobogatov showed how he had removed a Nand chip from an iPhone 5C - the main memory storage system used on many Apple devices.

The iPhone hack demanded a high level of electronics expertise

He then worked out how the memory system communicated with the phone so he could clone the chip.
And the target phone was modified so its Nand chip sat on an external board and copied versions could be easily plugged in or removed.
In the video, Dr Skorobogatov demonstrated locking an iPhone 5C by trying too many incorrect combinations.
He then removed the Nand chip and substituted a fresh clone, which had its pin attempt counter set at zero, to allow him to keep trying different codes.
"Because I can create as many clones as I want, I can repeat the process many many times until the passcode is found," he said.
Known as Nand mirroring, the technique is one FBI director James Comey said would not work on Farook's phone.
Finding a four-digit code took about 40 hours of work, Dr Skorobogatov said.
And finding a six-digit code could potentially take hundreds of hours
Using a slightly more sophisticated set-up should make it possible to clone memory chips from other iPhones, including more recent models such as the iPhone 6.
However, Dr Skorobogatov said, more information was needed about the way Apple stored data in memory on more recent phones.
The different techniques could make it "more challenging to analyse and copy", he added.
Apple has not responded to a request for comment on Dr Skorobogatov's research.
Susan Landau, on the Lawfare news blog, said the work showed law enforcement agencies should not look for software backdoors to help their investigations but should develop or cultivate hardware and computer security skills.
"Skorobogatov was able to do what the FBI said was impossible," she said.

Related Topics

• Cybersecurity

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New York bombing: Ahmad Khan Rahami IDed as suspect

Police released this photo of Ahmad Khan Rahami

New York officials have identified a suspect wanted for questioning over Saturday's blast in the Chelsea area in which 29 people were injured.

The man has been identified as Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, a naturalised US citizen from Afghanistan.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) has released a photograph.
Early on Monday, a backpack containing up to five devices exploded in Elizabeth, New Jersey when a bomb disposal robot tried to deactivate it.
Investigators have warned the suspect, whose last known address was in Elizabeth should be considered "armed and dangerous".
"Anyone who sees this individual or knows anything about him or his whereabouts needs to call it in right away," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on CNN.
Both the bomb that went off in New York and a device found nearby were shrapnel-filled pressure cookers, according to US media.
It is not clear who was behind the devices found in New Jersey, at the railway station in Elizabeth.

The FBI warned that Ahmad Khan Rahami should be considered armed and dangerous

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Glass bridge: China opens world's highest and longest

It's finally happened.

The much-heralded "world's highest and longest" glass-bottomed bridge has opened to visitors in central China.

It connects two mountain cliffs in what are known as the Avatar mountains (the film was shot here) in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province.

• Do you dare cross China's glass bridges?
• Chinese couple gets married on glass bridge
• China's latest mountain glass walkway
  

Bridge in numbers

Completed in December, the 430m-long bridge cost $3.4m (£2.6m) to build and stands 300m above ground, state news agency Xinhua reported.

It has been paved with 99 panes of three-layered transparent glass.

And according to officials, the 6m-wide bridge - designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan - has already set world records for its architecture and construction.

The year of glass bridges

Glass bridges in China have been a popular craze for the daring photo opportunities they provide. Events like mass yoga displays and even weddings have been staged on several such bridges.

One couple celebrated their special day by dangling in mid-air from a bridge in Pingjiang, also located in Hunan province.

But how safe is it?

This was the question on everyone's minds as the city geared up for the bridge's official opening.

But officials have staged high-profile events to try and reassure the public of the bridge's safety.

Officials sent in sledgehammers and even drove a car, filled with passengers, across the bridge earlier this year.

The BBC's Dan Simmons was invited to take a bash at the bridge.

Park officials have said a maximum of 8,000 visitors will be allowed on the bridge each day.

So those wanting to add another thrill to their bucket list are strongly encouraged to book their slots in advance.

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The Smoker’s Guide to Staying Healthy

know you know that cigarettes are bad for you. And I don’t want to harp on that subject. But knowledge is power so I’d like to share with you—as I do with my patients—some research and statistics that might give you even more of an incentive to quit.

I will also show you some excellent strategies for minimizing the damage from cigarettes until you feel you are ready to wean yourself off of them completely. And, should you decide to quit, I will give you a few tips for things you can do that might make the withdrawal process easier that you might not have thought about before.

Finally, I’ll talk about whether or not switching to organic or natural, additive-free cigarettes is a safe option.

First, though, I’ll briefly discuss some of the research that shows exactly how cigarette smoke is affecting you and your family.

How Organs Heal Once You Quit

Once you quit smoking, the good news is that your organs will start repairing themselves. Researchers used to think that once you stopped smoking it would take 15 years to reduce your risk of dying from heart disease to the level of lifelong nonsmokers. Now, new findings show that in smokers who smoke less than 32 pack years (3.2 packs a day for 10 years or two packs a day for 16 years), eight years after quitting the risk of developing heart failure or dying from heart failure, heart attacks and strokes declines to the same level as those who never smoked.⁵⁵

Another study showed that your heart disease risk starts to plummet in as little as three years after quitting smoking. Female non-diabetics who quit smoking within the past three years had a 26 percent lower risk of developing heart disease compared with women who continued smoking. And women who had quit smoking for more than three years saw their risk decline by 61 percent. The news gets better for female smokers with diabetes: those who quit smoking had about a 60 percent lower risk for heart disease, no matter how recently they had quit.⁵⁶

Most of the women in that study gained less than 11 pounds after quitting. The small group of women who gained more than 11 pounds didn’t see as much benefit to heart health from quitting, especially if they had diabetes.⁵⁶

Quitting smoking also boosts your levels of HDL cholesterol. One study published in September 2013 showed that this increase occurs soon after you quit and then evens out thereafter.⁵⁷

Your risk of lung cancer also goes down after quitting. One group of researchers estimated that for females, just under eight years is the time it takes for their lung cancer risk to become half the risk of a continuing smoker. For males, it’s closer to 11 years.⁵⁸
But it’s not just your risk of lung cancer that goes down. The risk of other cancers—throat, mouth, esophagus, bladder, cervix and pancreas—decreases, too.

Your Body On Cigarettes

Let’s start with heart disease. In people under 50, smoking increases the risk of heart disease and stroke by five-fold. It doubles the risk in people who are over-60.¹

Nicotine amps up the heart-harming effects of the oxidized LDL cholesterol in your body, making it even more damaging to your heart by increasing plaque accumulation in your arteries.²

And smoking isn’t good for your brain either. According to research in the American Heart Association journalStroke, brain function in adults as young as 35 may decline as their heart disease risk factors—including smoking cigarettes—increase.³

Smoking also increases your chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis and is linked to insomnia as well.^4-5

Smokers’ skin ages faster, too. In a study of identical twins published in November 2013, twins who smoked had more bags under the eyes and wrinkles than their non-smoking twin sibling.⁶

There’s also something else you might not realize about cigarettes. Remember the Russian who was poisoned by the radioactive substance polonium? Turns out every time you smoke a cigarette—unless they’re the organic or all natural variety—you’re exposed to polonium, too. That’s because the roots of tobacco plants absorb the radioactive polonium-210 found in phosphate fertilizers.

For someone smoking two packages of cigarettes a day, the radiation dose to the lungs is estimated to be at least seven times that from background sources. And in localized areas, it may be up to 1000 rem or more in 25 years.^7-10

The Dangers of Thirdhand Smoke

You’ve heard of secondhand smoke, where people who don’t smoke are exposed to cigarette smoke by being around a person smoking. Secondhand smoke is just as damaging to the heart and lungs as firsthand smoke. But, recently, scientists have pinpointed another danger known as thirdhandsmoke. This refers to residue from cigarette smoking that accumulates on the surfaces anyplace where someone smokes—in the car, in the house, on clothes.

Whenever a non-smoker is exposed to thirdhand smoke, they are also being exposed to the carcinogens found in it. Researchers have found a tobacco-specific lung carcinogen known as 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone—or NNK for short—on surfaces in smokers’ homes.¹¹

In addition, some thirdhand smoke components react with other environmental compounds and produce secondary cancer-causing pollutants.¹²

Although more studies are needed to specify exactly how thirdhand smoke affects the health of non-smokers exposed to it, researchers have found that thirdhand smoke causes DNA damage in human cells.¹³

They’ve also found that thirdhand smoke can damage lungs extracted from rats in the uterus.¹⁴

Young kids who crawl around the floor, touch surfaces (including car upholstery and the clothes of smokers) and then place their fingers in their mouth are especially at risk of coming into contact with thirdhand smoke. Researchers have found that when infants’ bedrooms are contaminated with higher levels of thirdhand smoke, the infants have higher levels of urine cotinine, a nicotine metabolite.¹⁵

Are Natural and Organic Cigarettes Better?

The answer to that question is both yes and no. Natural (American Spirit) and organic cigarettes don’t have polonium, since phosphate fertilizer wasn’t used to grow the tobacco. Natural and organic cigarettes also contain slightly less nicotine and lack the additives that cigarette manufacturers usually include—additives that are thought to make cigarettes even more addictive. For this reason, many people swear anecdotally that natural and organic cigarettes are easier to withdraw from than regular cigarettes.¹⁶

Organic cigarettes also are better for the planet, at least in regards to the lack of pesticides sprayed on the tobacco crops.

Having said all that, natural and organic cigarettes still contain 40 known or probable carcinogens.¹⁷

Additionally, your lungs are still being exposed to smoke filled with toxins rather than clean air. In fact, the FTC requires manufacturers of the natural and organic cigarettes to include the standard Surgeon General warning about cigarettes on the packages and on marketing materials and ads.

So while natural and organic cigarettes do have some advantages over regular cigarettes, they can’t be considered safe or healthy.

If You Are Trying to Quit, Here Are Some Options

First, I recommend joining a social media support group. A recent study in the Journal of Communication found that it was easier to quit smoking if the person participates in health-specific social networking sites that focus on quitting smoking. Because of the increased social connectedness associated with participating on the sites, the members were more likely—and found it easier—to quit smoking. The members also stayed away from cigarettes for longer because of their increased ability to abstain from smoking during tempting situations such as when out drinking, stressed, sad, etc.¹⁸

Second, try acupuncture. Studies have shown that it is often effective in helping smokers quit, especially when combined with nicotine replacement therapy (chewing gums and dermal patches).^19-21

eCigarettes—battery-powered metal tubes that turn nicotine-containing. Viwater into a vapor—are another option. You’ve probably heard of them, if you haven’t already tried them. In fact, a study published in The Lancet in September 2013 found that eCigarettes are as effective as the nicotine patch in helping smokers quit. The study also found that subjects who had not managed to quit smoked significantly less cigarettes when they were also smoking eCigarettes, compared to the subjects on the nicotine patch or who were given a placebo eCigarette that contained no nicotine.²²

Just keep in mind that while eCigarettes result in substantially less toxin exposure than regular cigarettes—levels of toxic compounds found in the smoke from a conventional cigarette are 9-450-fold higher than levels in the vapor of an eCigarette—they aren’t completely free of toxins. For example, exposure to the carcinogen formaldehyde was comparable with that received from cigarette smoking, although formaldehyde exposure varied greatly among eCigarette brands from just 3.2 micrograms per 150 puffs to 56.1 micrograms per 150 puffs.²³

Researchers have also found evidence that, among both non-smokers and smokers, using an eCigarette for only 10 minutes may result in damage to the lung.²⁴

The bottom line? eCigarettes are an improvement over conventional cigarettes, but they’re not the perfect solution.

Other Effective Strategies

Another way to increase your odds of kicking the habit is to boost your dopamine levels. Cigarettes, like most addictive substances, influence dopamine levels.²⁵

Most smokers who are withdrawing from cigarettes subconsciously try to increase their dopamine levels by eating too much of sugary foods and refined carbs, which increase dopamine levels.

A healthier way to boost dopamine levels while trying to quit smoking is by supplementing with tyrosine or eating foods rich in tyrosine. The body uses tyrosine to make dopamine. Foods high in tyrosine include chicken, duck, ricotta cheese, oatmeal, mustard greens, edamame, wheat germ, dark chocolate, fava beans and seaweed.

The form of niacin known as nicotinamide also boosts dopamine levels in the brain by protecting brain cells against factors that cause dopamine depletion.^26-27

Niacin also is a precursor to phenylalanine, which, in turn, is a precursor to tyrosine. Plus, it lowers cholesterol levels, raises levels of HDL "the good" cholesterol (found to be lower in smokers) and protects your heart—an organ that’s particularly vulnerable to damage from cigarette smoke.^28-29

Also, if depression is an issue for you, be sure to get it treated either before or while withdrawing from cigarettes. About half of smokers seeking treatment for smoking cessation have a history of depression. Scientists have found that smokers who suffer from a major depressive disorder (MDD) have a harder time quitting compared with smokers who are not depressed.^30-31

Finally, try supplementing with cinnamon and green tea. Believe it or not, cinnamon has been shown to help you quit smoking,³² while green tea also helps reduce nicotine cravings.³³

Do Non-Smoking Hotel Rooms Really Protect You From Smoke?

If you think staying in a non-smoking hotel room will protect you from thirdhand smoke, you may want to pay attention to the results of a study published in the June 2013 Tobacco Control.

In this study, researchers examined whether non-smoking guests staying in hotels with and without complete smoking bans were exposed to tobacco smoke pollutants. The researchers took random samples from 10 hotels with smoking bans and 30 without complete smoking bans. They analyzed surfaces and air for the tobacco smoke pollutants nicotine and 3-ethynylpyridine, or 3EP. Non-smoking subjects who stayed overnight in guestrooms provided urine and finger wipe samples to determine exposure to nicotine and a tobacco-specific carcinogen.

Compared with hotels with complete smoking bans, surface nicotine and air 3EP were elevated in both non-smoking and smoking rooms of hotels that allowed smoking. Non-smoking subjects staying in hotels without complete smoking bans had higher levels of finger nicotine and urine cotinine (a marker of nicotine exposure) than those staying in hotels with complete smoking bans. After staying in the 10 most polluted rooms, subjects had significant elevations in urinary levels of a tobacco-specific carcinogen.⁵⁹

The study authors concluded, “Partial smoking bans in hotels do not protect non-smoking guests from exposure to tobacco smoke and tobacco-specific carcinogens. Non-smokers are advised to stay in hotels with complete smoking bans.”

Keeping Yourself Healthy While You Smoke

I don’t have to tell you that quitting smoking is extremely difficult. So if you are finding it impossible to quit or have only been successful at cutting back the number of cigarettes per day, at least you can try to keep your cardiovascular system as healthy as possible until you succeed at going cold turkey. There are a number of healthy habits you can engage in that will partially protect your body against the toxins you inhale each time you take a puff. And these habits will put you in a stronger place emotionally and physically where you might be more likely to quit.

One of these habits is exercise. Moderate exercise strengthens the heart and reduces the risk of cancer.^34-35Additionally, in smokers with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), the highest levels of PTSD symptoms occurred in regular smokers reporting low weekly exercise levels.³⁶

In some, but not all, studies, exercise has reduced cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms.³⁷ In a study of pregnant women, exercise significantly reduced cigarette cravings. It also produced some non-significant—but yet still large—effects on reducing restlessness, stress, irritability, tension and depression.³⁸

It’s important not to overtax yourself, though. Too much exercise can cause free radical damage in the healthiest of people, but this damage is even worse in smokers.³⁹

One exercise you might want to try is yoga. Many studies have shown it’s a great way to keep your cardiovascular system in shape and that it can lower hypertension.^40-41

Plus, clinical trials have concluded yoga may help smokers quit the habit. Although researchers are still calling for larger studies, the studies that have been conducted are very promising and show that yoga can reduce cigarette cravings.^42-43

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