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When Smokers Quit – What Are the Benefits Over Time?
According to the American
Cancer Society, these
are the changes that take place in your body when you stop
smoking:
v
20 minutes after
quitting: Your heart
rate drops.
(US Surgeon General's Report, 1988, pp. 39, 202)
v
12 hours after
quitting: The carbon
monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
(US Surgeon General's Report, 1988, p. 202)
v
2 weeks to 3 months
after quitting: Your
circulation improves and your lung function increases.
(US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp.193,194,196,285,323)
v
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.
(US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp. 285-287, 304)
v
1 year after
quitting: The excess
risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's.
(US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi)
v
5 years after
quitting: Your stroke
risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5-15 years after
quitting.
(US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi)
v10 years after
quitting: The lung
cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing
smoker's. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat,
esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decrease.
(US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp. vi, 131, 148, 152,
155, 164,166)
v
15 years after
quitting: The risk of
coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker's.
(US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi)
v
Quitting smoking has
major and immediate health benefits for men and women of all
ages. Benefits apply to people with and without
smoking-related disease.
v
Former smokers live
longer than continuing smokers. For example, people who quit
smoking before age 50 have one-half the risk of dying in the
next 15 years compared with continuing smokers.
v
Quitting smoking
decreases the risk of lung cancer, other cancers, heart
attack, stroke, and chronic lung disease.
v
Women who stop
smoking before pregnancy or during the first 3 to 4 months of
pregnancy reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby
to that of women who never smoked.
v
The health benefits
of quitting smoking far exceed any risks from the average
5-pound weight gain or any adverse psychological effects that
may follow quitting.
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