When You Quit
When you quit smoking, your body starts going through good changes right away. Take a look at some of those changes based on information from the American Cancer Society.
After 20 minutes:
- Your blood pressure drops to a normal rate for you.
- The temperature of your hands and feet increases to normal.
After 8 hours:
- The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
- The oxygen level in your blood goes up to normal.
After 24 hours:
- Your chance of a heart attack goes down.
After 48 hours:
- Nerve endings start re-growing.
- Ability to smell and taste begins to improve.
After 2 weeks to 3 months:
- Your circulation improves.
- Walking gets easier.
- Your lungs perform up to 30 percent better.
After 1 to 9 months:
- There's less coughing, sinus congestion, tiredness, and shortness of breath.
- Cilia (tiny hairs) re-grow in your lungs to better handle mucous, clean your lungs, and reduce infection.
After 1 year:
- Your extra risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's.
After 5 to 15 years:
- Your stroke risk goes down to that of a nonsmoker.
After 10 years:
- The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a person who still smokes.
- Your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas goes down.
After 15 years:
- Your risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker's.
The National Institute of Health adds:
Your personal risk factors for dying early, and your chance of developing and dying from cancer due to cigarettes, depend on a few things:
- How many years you smoked.
- How many cigarettes you smoked each day.
- The age you began smoking.
- Whether or not you have cancer or another illness when you quit.
"It doesn't matter how old you are or how long you've smoked. You become healthier and stronger each day you are tobacco free." - National Cancer Institute
