Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health. There are many benefits of stopping smoking, some of which you’ll notice almost immediately.
Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health. There are many benefits of stopping smoking, some of which you’ll notice almost immediately.
At a glance, a few of the
include living longer, breathing more easily, having more energy and feeling less stressed.Here’s a timeline of what happens to your body over the days, weeks, months and years after you’ve stopped smoking.
Your pulse and heart rate both drop. Your blood pressure also starts to return to normal.
Your body starts to remove the harmful carbon monoxide found in cigarettes from your blood, reducing levels by half. These begin to return to normal and your oxygen levels go up.
The decrease in your blood pressure means your circulation also improves. Having stopped smoking for 1 day, you’ve already reduced your risk of heart disease due to high blood pressure.
All of the carbon monoxide from the cigarettes has been removed from your body. Your lungs are clearing out mucus and the receptors in your nerves begin to heal, bringing back your normal sense of taste and smell.
All the nicotine in your body is now gone and any withdrawal symptoms you have will soon pass. You might notice it’s now easier to breathe. This is because your bronchial tubes have begun to relax. You’re likely to feel your energy levels rise too.
Having stopped smoking for a few weeks, your circulation is much improved and blood is pumping more easily through your heart and muscles. As your lungs start to heal, you’ll be coughing a lot less and any wheezing or shortness of breath will improve. You’ll start to find it much easier to exercise at this point too.
After a few months, your lungs have healed significantly and the hair-like cells (cilia) inside your lungs have recovered. Your lung function may have increased by up to 10% and coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath should have eased.
After a year of not smoking, your risk of coronary heart disease has gone down by 50%. This will continue to decrease as long as you aren’t smoking.
At this point, your arteries and blood vessels have healed and will begin to widen again. This lowers your risk of blood clots and having a stroke.
Having not smoked for 10 years, you’ve cut your chances of dying from lung cancer in half. You’ve also significantly reduced your likelihood of getting mouth, throat or pancreatic cancer, compared to people who still smoke.
Your chances of developing heart disease or pancreatic cancer are the same as someone who has never smoked.
Your risk of dying from a smoking-related illness such as lung disease or cancer is now the same as someone who has never smoked a cigarette.
There are a number of steps you can take to help you
. Your doctor will be able to provide you with advice on how to stop smoking and guide you towards online resources and support groups.If you want to stop smoking now, here are a few do’s and don'ts to help get you started:
Important: Our website provides useful information but is not a substitute for medical advice. You should always seek the advice of your doctor when making decisions about your health.