At 48 hours:
- Nerve endings start regrowing
- Ability to smell and taste improve
Between 2 weeks and 3 months:
- Circulation improves
- Walking becomes easier
- Lung function increases
So many
positive changes occur during the first 3 months of
smoking
cessation. The worst of nicotine withdrawal subsides within the first
month. Now the focus needs to be on learning how to decipher and
reprogram the psychological tugs or urges to smoke.
Between 1 to 9 months:
Significant improvements in these areas:
- Coughing
- Sinus congestion
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
The changes you'll be going through will affect more than your physical health. Confidence will soar as you accumulate more smoke free time.
At 1 Year smoke free:
- Excess risk of coronary heart disease is decreased to half that of a smoker
Cigarette smoking is directly linked to 30% of all heart disease deaths in the United States each year. It plays a part in coronary heart disease, and causes damage by decreasing oxygen to the heart. Smoking increases blood pressure and heart rate, both of which are hard on the heart. Quitting tobacco is the absolute best thing you can do for your heart and for your health overall.
At 5 years smoke free:
-
From 5 to 15 years after quitting tobacco, stroke risk is reduced to that of people who have never smoked.
At 10 years smoke free:
- Risk of lung cancer drops to as little as one-half that of continuing smokers
- Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases
- Risk of ulcer decreases
At 15 years smoke free:
- Risk of coronary heart disease is now similar to that of people who have never smoked
- Risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked