The Quit Smoking Benefits Timetable

When you stop smoking, your health starts to improve almost immediately and you will get benefits for almost all your life. Pay attention to this timetable:



Within 20 minutes



Blood pressure, pulse rate, and the temperature of hands and feet will return to normal.



Within 12 hours



Blood oxygen level will have increased to normal and carbon monoxide levels will have dropped to normal.



Within 48 hours



Smell and taste are beginning to return to normal.



Within 72 hours



Breathing becomes easier because bronchial tubes begin to relax. Lung capacity starts to increase.



Within 2 weeks to 3 months



Heart attack risk has starts to drop. Lung function begins to improve.



Within 3 weeks to 3 months



Circulation improves markedly. Walking becomes easier. Chronic cough, if any, has likely disappeared.



Within 1 to 9 months



Any smoking related sinus congestion, fatigue or shortness of breath have decreased. Cilia regrown in lungs thereby increasing the ability to handle mucus, keeping lungs clean, and reducing infections. You feel your body's overall energy increased.



Within 1 year



The risk of coronary heart disease drops to less than half that of a smoker.



Within 5 to 15 years



The risk of stroke declines to that of a non-smoker.



Within 10 years



The risk of death from lung cancer has declined by almost half if you were an average smoker (one pack per day). The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat and esophagus has now decreased.



Within 15 years



The risk of coronary heart disease is now that of a person who has never smoked.



So, what are you waiting for? Let's start this new life right now!