What Happens to Your Body if You Stop Smoking Right Now?
Posted February 28th, 2010 by John C. Oconnor
I think one of the main reasons it’s so hard to quit smoking is because all the benefits of quitting and all the dangers of continuing seem very far away. Well, here’s a little timeline about some of the more immediate effects of quitting smoking and how that will affect your body RIGHT NOW.
* In 20 minutes your blood pressure will drop back down to normal.
* In 8 hours the carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) levels in your blood stream will drop by half, and oxygen levels will return to normal.
* In 48 hours your chance of having a heart attack will have decreased. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will return to a normal level.
* In 72 hours your bronchial tubes will relax, and your energy levels will increase.
* In 2 weeks your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks.
* In three to nine months coughs, wheezing and breathing problems will dissipate as your lung capacity improves by 10%.
* In 1 year your risk of having a heart attack will have dropped by half.
* In 5 years your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker.
* In 10 years your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
* In 15 years your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
So, you have more immediate things to look forward to if you quit now besides just freaking out about not being able to smoke. Quit now!
4 Responses to “What Happens to Your Body if You Stop Smoking Right Now?”
March 1st, 2010 at 11:25 pm
I am really impressed by the benefits and I will definitely try to quit smoking right away. Thanks for such a nice information
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:44 am
Thanks for the awesome info.
I really never thought some of these benefits
I think my smoking addiction is kinda psychological.
Is there any small steps that I can start doing for me to stop my addiction?
April 27th, 2010 at 9:20 am
Busy your hands & mouth. Two part of the addiction to cigarettes that people ignore in favor of concentrating on the dependency effects of nicotine is the habit that has formed over lots of years of the actual ACTION of smoking. IF you carryover some toothpicks you can suck on or some nuts you can crack open & eat you will busy your hands looking for a familiar action, no need for anything terribly elaborate keep them busy or they may stray to a cigarette.
August 30th, 2010 at 9:15 am
I quit smoking cold turkey almost 6 weeks ago. I’ve had my ups and downs in that time, but feel like I’ve been making serious progress overall. However, in this last week or so, I’ve been wanting a smoke so often and it’s getting harder. I know the nicotine is long out of my body, but I swear I’m having cravings for a smoke that feel just like nicotine withdrawal. Why is this happening with me?
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