What Happens to Your Body After Quitting Smoking

Think of it as a pathway to happiness, rather than an obstacle

Thinking about quitting cold turkey? You will notice changes within an hour.

Here at QuitGo, we do not have to remind you that cigarette smoking causes many deaths in the United States alone. By quitting, you can prevent death, but we know how daunting it can be.

“You may feel it is going to take a long time to see any improvement in your health. However, did you know that you could start feeling the benefits faster than you think?” – George, QuitGo Customer for 3 months

You can notice a change taking place within an hour after lighting your last cigarette and – believe us – it continues to improve.

Truths about Quitting Smoking

When you quit, there are some main points related to smoking cessation as seen here:

·       For you, it means breaking the addiction cycle and changing your mindset to stop craving tobacco.

·       The benefits of stopping begin within an hour after smoking your last cigarette.

·       To quit and be successful at it, you need to have a plan of action in place to beat the cravings and triggers you experience.

·       The sooner you stop smoking, the faster your body heals and reduces the risk of getting heart & lung disease or cancer.

Timeline After You Quit Smoking

You will notice a significant change after finishing your last smoke. The advantage is nearly instant as the body recovers:

One Hour After Quitting

As soon as you quit your heart rate and blood pressure drops and returns to normal. Therefore, your circulation starts to improve, making you feel better.

Twelve Hours After Stopping 

Cigarettes contain harmful toxins such as carbon monoxide and are fatal when you get it in high doses. The chemicals prevent oxygen from entering your blood and lungs.

When you inhale large dosages during a short period, you can suffocate from not receiving oxygen. Therefore, after 12-hours, the body starts to cleanse itself from the carbon monoxide.

Your levels of carbon monoxide return to normal, and your oxygen levels improve. You start breathing easier.

After One Day

The fantastic thing is after you have not smoked for a day, your chance of getting a heart attack decreases. You are not smoking and lowering the good cholesterol that keeps your heart working in tip-top condition.

Your blood pressure is not high and returns to normal, so the risk of getting blood clots decreases. Therefore, the risk of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, and a stroke lessens.

During this short time, your oxygen levels rise, making physical activities more comfortable and promote healthy habits.

Two Days of Not Smoking

As with heart and blood pressure, smoking also damages your nerve endings such as taste and smell. After quitting, your senses heighten, and your smell and taste improve. You will notice a significant difference in how your food smells and tastes.

Three Days of Quitting

By this time, the nicotine levels deplete in the body, but can cause nicotine withdrawal. The majority of non-smokers experience irritability, headaches, moodiness, and cravings around the third day as the body adjusts to not smoking.

A Month of Not Smoking

By this time, your lung capacity has improved, and you may find you cough less. Furthermore, you will not feel shortness of breath. Your stamina improves as you can now do cardiovascular activities without gasping for breath.

Up to Nine Months After Quitting

By the third month, your circulation improves, and by month nine, the lungs healed themselves significantly. The cilia hair structures in the lungs recover and push the mucus out of your lungs to help fight infections.

At this time, you may notice you get fewer lung infections. The cilia is finding its job more manageable.

After Twelve Months to Five Years of Not Smoking

The risk of getting a heart attack decreases by half as the arteries and blood vessels start to widen after five years of quitting. With the blood vessels expanding, the likeliness of blood clots lessens and does not lead to a stroke. As the body heals more, the risk of getting different diseases related to smoking decreases.

Ten Years to Twenty Years of Quitting

By the tenth year, the chance of developing lung cancer decreases as well. The same applies to get pancreatic cancer, mouth, and throat cancer. By year fifteen, developing coronary heart disease is the same as a person, not smoking, and the same applies to the latter.

By year twenty, the risk of dying from smoking-related diseases drops to the same level as a person who has never smoked in his or her life.

Quitting is Better with Loads of Benefits

As you can see, quitting smoking leaves you without severe health complications and death compared to someone who smokes. As the years pass of quitting the body starts to heal itself, leaving you with vitality over time.

Your blood pressure lessens immediately, and other effects of developing heart disease and cancer drop down over the years. Furthermore, your overall health improves in many different ways and remains an excellent choice to stop the bad habit.

Start your quit journey with us today!