Tobacco products are the source of a disturbing reality, despite their international popularity, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of 2010, they are the top reason for avoidable premature death not only in the United States, but also worldwide. This track record translates to equally sobering statistics. Each year almost half a million Americans and 5 million people around the globe suffer the ultimate consequence of using tobacco, which is death.
Earliest Changes
Quitting smoking can drastically improve your overall health, regardless of how long you have smoked and when you choose to end the lethal practice. Yet, the sooner you stop using tobacco products, the longer you will live and enjoy better health. Minutes to hours after quitting smoking, you will experience lower blood pressure, decreased heart rate and warmer feet and hands. Your bloodstream will have less carbon monoxide and more oxygen, as well. One to two days later, your senses of smell and taste, dulled from smoking, will begin to sharpen, and your chances of having a heart attack will decrease.
Short-Term Changes
Within weeks of kicking your smoking habit, your circulation will improve and your lungs will function better, allowing you to exercise more intensely and for longer stretches of time. Your lungs will continue to recover normal functioning up to about nine months after you give up tobacco, and they will gradually regain the ability to clean themselves and fight infections. As a result, you will experience fewer breathing difficulties and symptoms related to impaired lung functioning, such as coughing, shortness of breath, sinus congestion and sore throat. The improvement will extend to your general wellbeing as you gain more energy and feel tired less often.
Long-Term Changes
One year after your final puff, your chances of developing coronary heart disease will be about half of what they would be if you had continued smoking. Five to 15 years after you last lit up, your risk of having a stroke will be identical to that of a nonsmoker. One decade after your final cigarette, you will be 50 percent less likely than a smoker to die from lung cancer, and your chances of getting cancer in other areas such as your bladder, mouth and throat will decrease, too. Fifteen years following your last taste of tobacco, you will be as likely to get coronary heart disease as a nonsmoker. Quitting smoking also reduces your likelihood of getting other major medical conditions, including chronic asthma, chronic bronchitis, diabetes, emphysema, gum disease and ulcers.
Other Changes
Dropping cigarettes from your life can improve more than just your health. The benefits of becoming a nonsmoker again can include a more attractive appearance and presence, which may provide a boost to your career, self-esteem and social life. For example, lack of contact with tobacco products can prevent your skin from developing wrinkles and your fingernails and teeth from turning yellower. Moreover, the absence of cigarette smoke hovering around you can allow your breath, clothing and hair to smell less offensive.
