Benefits of Quitting Smoking
- 20 minutes after quitting:
- Your heart rate and blood pressure drops.
- 12 hours after quitting:
- The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
- 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting:
- Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
- 1 to 9 months after quitting:
- Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs and reduce the risk of infection.
- 1 year after quitting:
- The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.
- 5 years after quitting:
- Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.
- 10 years after quitting:
- The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a person who continues smoking. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix and pancreas decrease, too.
- 15 years after quitting:
- The risk of coronary heart disease is the same as a non-smoker’s.
Adapted from the American Cancer Society “When Smokers Quit—Benefits of Quitting Over Time.”