Benefits of Quitting

If you have quit very recently and are experiencing withdrawal symptoms, try to visualize all of the good things that are happening to you physically. The day you had your last cigarette, your body began healing itself:

• 20 minutes after quitting, your blood pressure dropped to your pre-cigarette level.
• 8 hours after quitting, the carbon monoxide in your blood returned to normal.
• 24 hours after quitting, you lowered your chances of having a heart attack.

In the months and years to come, your body will continue to recover:

• 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting, your circulation will improve and your lung function will increase (try taking the stairs now!).
• Within 9 months after quitting, you'll experience less coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath.
• 1 year after quitting, your risk of coronary heart disease will be about half of what it would have been if you had continued to smoke.
• 5 years after quitting, your risk of stroke will be substantially reduced: within 5 to 15 years after quitting, it becomes about the same as a nonsmoker's.
• 10 years after quitting, your risk of dying from lung cancer will be about half of what it would have been if you had continued to smoke. Your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas will also decrease.
• 15 years after quitting, your risk of coronary heart disease will be the same as a nonsmoker's.