Want to Know What Will Happen to Your Body if You Stopped Smoking Right Now?
Today is the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, an annual event that has been held for the last three decades. with the aim of encouraging smokers to quit by providing information, support, and resources.
An ex-smoker myself, I know how very, very difficult it is to give it up. But I also know the up side of giving up the smokes and I’d encourage anyone who has been thinking about giving up cigarrettes to stop thinking and act. You’ll thank yourself in the end.
Healthbolt already has a fairly active support system going on at the comment section of a post - What Happens to Your body if you stop smoking Right now? - that was written by the Wade Meredith, the original Healthbolter.
Here’s the highlights of that post…
- In 20 minutes your blood pressure will drop back down to normal.
- In 8 hours the carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) levels in your blood stream will drop by half, and oxygen levels will return to normal.
- In 48 hours your chance of having a heart attack will have decreased. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will return to a normal level.
- In 72 hours your bronchial tubes will relax, and your energy levels will increase.
- In 2 weeks your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks.
- In three to nine months coughs, wheezing and breathing problems will dissipate as your lung capacity improves by 10%.
- In 1 year your risk of having a heart attack will have dropped by half.
- In 5 years your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker.
- In 10 years your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
- In 15 years your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
Click here for a high-quality Graphic representation of this chart.
Does it help you make the decision to stop any easier ?
I sure hope so.
If it does, head over to the Great American Smokeout for support and advice and have a look at. And check out these 5 Smoking Gadgets That Might Help You Quit Smoking.
Good Luck…
Kelly Townsend
Love the post. So many people wonder this.
Hope it’s ok to link to it.
One of the coolest moments in my life - after two years without ciggies my Dr. took lung x-rays and then a week later told me my lungs were NORMAL!!!
Not too bad considering over 40 years of smoking…
James, glad you liked the post. Link away, and stumble etc etc. Spread the word that your body gets healthier quickly once you quit.
Mark, that really is cool. Congrats. Just shows that the damage smoking does can be reversed over time….
Wow! great sharing of knowledge. I’d just posted an article about “stop smoking” on my blog. Maybe I can have this article posted in my blog also, to emphasize my readers about the benefit of quit smoking.