What Happens After You Quit Smoking
Two Hours after Quitting: Nicotine begins to leave your system. Some people may feel withdrawal pangs. This is a good sign. Your body is cleaning itself out. Hang in there. Within two days all the nicotine by-
products will be gone. Your blood pressure readjusts to natural level. Your pulse rate adjusts to normal level. The body temperature of your hands and feet increase to normal.
After Eight Hours: Heart rate and blood pressure decrease (although it may take up to a month for them to return to their normal rates). Your carbon monoxide level drops to normal. Oxygen level in blood increases to normal. After Twelve Hours: The carbon monoxide is completely out of your system. Your lungs work more efficiently and you can do more without becoming short of breath.
After Two Days: Your sense of taste and smell sharpen. In addition, your breath, hair, fingers and teeth will be cleaner. After One Week: Most withdrawal symptoms are completely gone. After Two Weeks: Your circulation improves. So does your confidence level because you feel good about your progress. Walking becomes easier. You begin to think of yourself as a non-smoker.
Over One To Nine Months: Cilia regrows in lungs, increasing ability to handle mucous, clean the lungs, and reduce infection. Your body's overall energy level increases. Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease Within Two Months: Blood flow improves to your hands and feet, keeping them warmer. Your skin looks healthier.
Within Three Months: The cilia (a hair-like cleaning system in the lungs) begin to recover and remove the mucous, so you can cough it up, cleaning your lungs and reducing the chance of infection. You may notice increased coughing for a few days. After A Year: Your risk of lung cancer is reduced and you have less risk of heart disease. Fifteen years after quitting, the risk approaches that of someone who has never smoked
Your Appearance: Not only will you feel better, but you'll also look better. Since smoking stains your teeth, gives you stale breath, and causes wrinkles around the eyes and mouth to appear earlier, the sooner you quit the better. Your Bank Account Also Gets Healthier: If you smoke 20 cigarettes a day, you could save over $2500 a year. Imagine what you could do with that money. Non-smokers also pay much less for life insurance premiums. Within Five Years: Lung cancer death rate for average smoker (one pack per day) decreases from 137 per 100,000 people to 72 per 100,000 After 10 years, rate drops to 12 deaths per 100,000 or almost the rate of a person who never smoked!
