Your body starts healing the moment you stub out that last cigarette! This timeline shows the incredible changes that happen when you quit smoking, proving that every step you take makes a huge difference to your health and well-being.
- 20 Minutes After Your Last Cigarette: Your heart rate and blood pressure drop to normal levels. The temperature of your hands and feet increases to normal.
- 12 Hours After Your Last Cigarette: Carbon monoxide levels in your blood drop to normal, allowing your red blood cells to carry more oxygen. Your heart doesn’t have to work as hard.
- 24 Hours After Your Last Cigarette: Your risk of a heart attack begins to decrease.
- 48 Hours After Your Last Cigarette: Nerve endings start to regrow. Your sense of smell and taste begin to improve.
- 2 Weeks to 3 Months After Your Last Cigarette: Your circulation improves, and your lung function increases by up to 30%. Walking becomes easier.
- 1 to 9 Months After Your Last Cigarette: Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease. The cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce infection.
- 1 Year After Your Last Cigarette: Your risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker.
- 5 Years After Your Last Cigarette: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker 5 to 15 years after quitting. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder is cut in half.
- 10 Years After Your Last Cigarette: Your risk of dying from lung cancer is about half that of a person who continues to smoke. Your risk of cancer of the larynx (voice box) and pancreas decreases.
- 15 Years After Your Last Cigarette: Your risk of coronary heart disease is the same as that of a non-smoker.