Johns Hopkins Health Alert
The Instant Benefits of Quitting Smoking
Virtually the minute you quit smoking, your health begins to improve.
The negative effects of smoking are clear: One in every three people who starts smoking will die prematurely of a smoking-related illness, according to the American Lung Association. And one in every five deaths stems directly from tobacco exposure. But the good news is that it’s never too late to quit smoking. The benefits of smoking cessation begin within a few minutes of your last cigarette and continue for life, even for people with lung disease.
The Benefits of Quitting Smoking
Regardless of how long you’ve been smoking, your health begins to improve shortly after your last cigarette. And the longer you are cigarette free, the greater the benefits become. Look at the timeline below:
- Time Since Last Cigarette -- 20 minutes: Elevated blood pressure levels begin to drop, and the temperature in your extremities begins to return to normal.
- Time Since Last Cigarette -- 8 hours: You achieve normal blood levels of carbon monoxide.
- Time Since Last Cigarette – 1 day: Your risk of a heart attack begins to decline.
- Time Since Last Cigarette – 2 weeks–3 months: Circulation improves, and lung function increases, decreasing the risk of lung infections.
- Time Since Last Cigarette -- 1–9 months: Shortness of breath, sinus congestion, coughing and fatigue improve. A few months of smoking cessation improves lung function about 5 percent in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and the risk of death from COPD declines.
- Time Since Last Cigarette – 1 year: Your risk of having a heart attack is cut in half.
- Time Since Last Cigarette – 5 years: The risk of cancer in the oral cavity and esophagus is already half that of continuing smokers, and the risk continues to decline with continued cessation.
- Time Since Last Cigarette -- 5–15 years: The risk of a stroke becomes similar to that of a lifelong nonsmoker.
- Time Since Last Cigarette -- 10 years: Your risk of developing lung cancer is 30 to 50 percent lower than it would be had you continued to smoke, and the risk continues to decline with continued abstinence. Also, you’ve significantly decreased your risk of developing cancer of the bladder, cervix, esophagus, kidney, mouth, pancreas and throat.
- Time Since Last Cigarette -- 10–15 years: Your odds of dying of any cause are the same as those of someone who never smoked.
- Time Since Last Cigarette -- 15 years: Your risk of having a heart attack is the same as a lifelong nonsmoker.
Posted in Lung Disorders on January 25, 2007
Reviewed June 2011
Medical Disclaimer: This information is not intended to substitute for the advice of a physician. Click here for additional information: Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Disclaimer
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