Heart Health
Smoking gets a lot of attention for its damaging effects to the body. Benefits someone can expect to see 20 minutes after smoking the final cigarette is a reduction in blood pressure and heart rate, and improved circulation.
Lungs
Smoking takes one of its biggest tolls on the lungs. Tar and other pollutants end up getting caked on the interior lining of the lungs and breathing can become difficult. One to nine months after quitting, the lungs start to regenerate and are more able to evacuate mucus and debris.
Cancer
Smoking severely increases the risks for cancer in many areas of the body. After 10 years of being smoke-free, your risk of dying from cancer of the lungs, mouth, throat, pancreas and bladder is cut in half compared with a regular smoker.
Pregnancy
If you are a women who smokes, you have to be careful when you are pregnant. A number of birth defects can present themselves if you smoke, such as having a low birth-weight baby. If you quit before you become pregnant or within your first trimester, you can reduce the chances of that happening to that of a nonsmoking woman.
Immediate Benefits
There are some rewards of quitting that can be seen almost instantly after the last puff is exhaled. The yellow discoloration on your fingers and nails will fade, your sense of smell will return, your taste buds will start to gain more sensation and you will have an easier time breathing during recreational and daily activities.
