According to the American Cancer Society, the nicotine found in cigarettes is as addictive as heroine or cocaine and is the cause of nearly 1 in 5 deaths in the U.S. each year. Smoking leads to multiple different types of health problems, such as lung and heart disease, and many different types of cancer. Though it is hard to quit nicotine because of its addictive nature and very uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms, the benefits of quitting smoking happen almost immediately and continue for years.
Within 20 Minutes
Within approximately 20 minutes after a person smokes the last cigarette, Womenshealth.gov, the U.S goverment resource for women's health, reports that a person's heart rate drops down to about normal. MedlinePlus, an online medical encyclopedia associated with the U.S National Library of Medicine, adds that a person's blood pressure also returns to normal, and the temperature of their hands and feet rise to normal as well.
Within 24 Hours
MedlinePlus reports that the body's risk of having a sudden heart attack decreases.
Within 48 hours
Smoking cigarettes damages nerves throughout your body, as well as your sense of smell. Within 48 hours after quitting smoking, MedlinePlus describes how those nerves start to heal. Additionally, a person's sense of smell begins to come back, improving both smell and taste.
At 2 to 3 days
The American Cancer Society reports that nicotine withdrawal symptoms peak at about the second or third day after a person smokes his last cigarette. The peak of withdrawal symptoms occurs at this stage because this is when the body has rid itself of most of the nicotine and its byproducts. Thus, the body must operate on its own without the effects of nicotine. The symptoms of withdrawal include psychological symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, frustration, anger, depression, and trouble concentrating; sleeping problems, including falling, staying asleep, and nightmares; and bodily symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, constipation, gas, cough, dry mouth, and tightness in the chest.
Between 1 and 9 months
Womenshealth.gov and MedlinePlus both describe the further beneficial body effects that occur between one and nine months, and beyond, after smoking cessation. The body's energy and lung function increases. Because the lungs function better, respiratory symptoms caused by smoking, such as coughing and wheezing, improve. The body is less susceptible to catching colds and respiratory infections.
Within 1 year
A person's risk of developing coronary artery disease, a type of heart disease, is half that of a smoker's.
Within 5 years
A person's risk of having a stroke is the same as a non-smoker's, and the smoker's risk of getting mouth and lung cancer drops to about half that of someone still smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
Within 10 years
MedlinePlus indicates that the greatest benefits are seen at 10 years without a cigarette: the risk of developing lung cancer is similar to that of a person who has never picked up a cigarette; and the risk of developing other types of cancers, like cancer of the pancreas, bladder, kidney, and esophagus, also dramatically decrease.
