What Happens to Your body if you stop smoking Right now?
July 19, 2006 by Liz Lewis
Filed under Cancer, Greatest Hits, Prevention, Your Body
I think one of the main reasons it’s so hard to quit smoking is because all the benefits of quitting and all the dangers of continuing seem very far away. Well, here’s a little timeline about some of the more immediate effects of quitting smoking and how that will affect your body RIGHT NOW.
- 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.
So, you have more immediate things to look forward to if you quit now besides just freaking out about not being able to smoke. Quit now!
Update: 6/11/07
You can view a high-quality Graphic representation of this post right here.
Update: This make you think it’s time to quit. Check out these 5 Smoking Gadgets That Might Help You Quit Smoking.
Really want to be serious about quitting? Click Here!
[tags] smoking, cancer, quit smoking [/tags]
Dear All
Stopped smoking exactly 10 months back.
Have not smoked 9,300 of those cancer sticks.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ALL OF YOU
Best of luck
Regards
VSM
hello, i try to stop smooking, it cause some effects like wheezing, breathing problems. i fear about that, please give some suggestion for this. i wait for ur replay.
Well, it has been 4 full days without smoking. my Fiance and i are doing this together and we both feel great and so proud of each other. I like to think i am doing well but the carvings and the physical habit are here and frankly i feel tremendously irritable and i don’t seem to be having a good time as a non smoker. i am chewing on just about anything i can put in my mouth. mints and candy have gone from an occasional treat to sugar-filled annoyance. I use Nicotine gum in an emergency but i just makes me high, and although it is calming it is nothing like a having a smoke. i know it is for the best, being rid of this nasty habit, but i just feel like i am in a movie waiting for the credits to roll so i can light up soon as i get to the parking lot. AHHHHHG!
I had my last smoked over 24 hours ago. To date I have smoked for 9 years (pack-a-day) and now I am ready to quit. Keep posting as it is really helping me to read all these great stories.
Hi Amer,
Congratulations on what I consider the most difficult decision when quitting smoking. To me, finding the date to quit is the hardest to do and you have already succeeded.
I have had a difficult time trying to quit these past few weeks, but tomorrow is another date for me! I am proud that I chose July 4 because it will start my independence from cigarettes!
During the next few days, if you have an urge, just take a quick breath through your nose and give out a great big exhale. You will immediately feel the urge leave you. It’s amazing…
Good luck tomorrow. Day 2 for you and you will already feel much better.
Marilyn
Thank you Marilyn. It has now been a week and I feel great. I am still using the gum and now I just hope that I dont get addicted to the gum.
i smoked heavily for almost 50 years, tried so many times to quit, usually lasted a few hours.
i started to get pains in my legs so i had to quit, but still couldnt.
then by sure chance i heard about electronic cigarettes so i bought one, cost £52, but after 1 drag i knew i would never smoke a real cigarette again.
but does it count as giving up?.
i have no cravings at all for a real ciggie at all, threw my tobacco in the bin and will never smoke again. do i care if i stay on the electronic cigarette, not really, i get the enjoyment of a ciggie without the dangers,
or at least i think i do, any thoughts.
Hi Dennis,
I was also a one-pack-a-day smoker for 50+ years. Right now I’m holding my own on a three month cold turkey quit. It has not been easy! But the daily bouts with craving seem to be gradually diminishing in intensity and frequency, and I’m beginning to dare to think of myself as a FORMER SMOKER.
Your post strikes me as unusual for this site. In fact, I haven’t noticed anyone stumping for electronic cigarettes before. Let’s take your post at face value – so for example, I will assume that you have no stake in electronic cigarettes other than any other independent person. You certainly described your positive opinion of these gadgets clearly enough, but you didn’t give us much detail. Could you be a bit more specific? For example, how often do you smoke now? How does it work? I am very surprised that you suddenly have zero cravings for “ordinary” cigarettes.
But most of all, if I were you and smoking these things, I would worry about safety. Since they’re so new, there is no history of long-term effects on health, and in fact, there are new studies that suggest that electronic cigarettes may be dangerous. Here’s a link to a recent study described in a reliable Cleveland (Ohio, USA) newspaper:
http://www.cleveland.com/medical/plaindealer/index.ssf/base/news/124833795418880.xml&coll=2
Of course, everyone knows that smoking cigarettes presents health risks. But with cigarettes, the risks (both short term and long term) are well known, and that information is publicly available – while for electronic cigarettes, the health risks (certainly the long-term risks) are pretty much a mystery.
Anyway, I hope your solution works for you and is safe as well.
Best, –Bill
Just testing.
hi bill, no i do not have any stake whatsoever in the electronic cigarettes, all i can say on the health issue is nicotine is known to have no harmfull effects nor does the gel the nicotine is bonded with, however i have read on the net that many countries are very worried about the loss of tax revenue that they have tried to ban them on the grounds of it being an untested medicine ?, canada tried and failed so maybe its just scaremongering.
its been a few weeks now and i have no wish or need to ever smoke again i have so much more energy and the hacking cough i had has gone.
it will take a bit more time for the pain in the legs to go when i walk up hills but i have been told this does take time.
whilst i agree this was an unusual post on a stop smoking forum, it worked for me, instantly.
regards dennis
Thanks for the reply, Dennis. But I wonder if the picture is as clear as you indicate. For example, you say that nicotine is known to have no harmful health effects. Is that really true? I haven’t followed the literature (on health effects of nicotine) closely, but I do recall that nicotine raises blood pressure – and perhaps more dangerously, over time it contributes irreversibly to arteriosclerosis.
But it’s not just the nicotine. The FDA (certainly independent of tax revenue issues in the US) found in testing that half of their samples of electronic cigarettes contain carcinogens, and one contained diethylene glycol – an ingredient used in antifreeze. See
http://www.cleveland.com/medical/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/124833795418880.xml&coll=2
It’s also true that electronic cigarette advocates have said that this particular ingredient was a singular case that originated in a seedy manufacturing plant in China (many e-cigarettes are manufactured in China, BTW), and does not represent the norm. But others disagree. So it seems to me that the issue is murky enough that if I were smoking those things, I’d be worried enough to do some research. Good luck!
–Bill
Hi Bill,
I was reading through the comments and wanted to respond to what you had posted about the E-Cigarettes. I am 22 have been smoking (pack a day) for about 5 years. Decided 3 days ago to quit. While the first 2 days were terrible I decided to buy one of those E-Cigarettes. My main reason for this was to get “some” nicotine as well as keeping my hands busy. I would think that when a smoker trying to quit wants nicotine or a cigarette, a patch just doesnt really do it. So this fake cig works as a “mind game” for me and keeping my hands busy like I have a real cigarette. I have been able to tell already within 24 hrs of using this fake cig that my cravings and urge all around has deminished. I havent been sucking on it all day like I may have thought in the beginning. Now even though it was a bit pricey and very well may have a chemical found in antifreeze “according to your cleveland post”, if this will help me stomp the urge for the rest of my life then it is 100% worth it. I honestly cant picture myself using it much longer before I am strong enough on my own.
Hi Eric,
Okay – if it helps, then why not? So far as I have been able to tell, there are NO GENERAL RULES for quitting smoking – it’s staying off the cigarette habit long-term that matters! One day at a time.
But in case you find yourself still puffing away on it a few months down the line, please do be careful to check into those unknown long-term effects.
Good luck,
–Bill
bill, sorry mate but you seem to be a bit scared of life itself.
i think anyone who has tried an e ciggie will tell you that quitting is easy. i smoked heavy for 45 years, got an e ciggie gave up in a moment and i feel so much better, easy. as for the possible harmfull side effects, dont they give rat poison to thin the blood,
sorry but some of the posts on here are pathetic like the one about giving up next month cause its the date there mother died of cancer and what made it worse was they said they were so looking foward to the best day of there life when they quit,next month?
wont last a week.
sorry to be so negative but people are going on about giving up smoking like they have a terminal illness and have weeks to live.
get a e fag and you will wonder what all the fuss was about.
45 years, 20/30 a day and it was easy, so there ya go boys and girls and just for bill, today i walked down the road and cars were belching out smoke, possible hazard there mate dare i go out?
sorry folks but the the answer is an e ciggie without a doubt.
August 28, 2009 at 11:47 am
Hey Dennis:
Did you perhaps have a bad day or something ? Since you’ve smoked for 45 years, I guess that makes you an adult (well, sort of). So, as long as I know I’m not addressing some silly little teenager who knows very little of life, here’s my response to you:
I’m trying hard to understand how you could be so judgmental of others. If using e-ciggies (as you refer to them) worked for you, why not do a posting to tell everyone how well it worked for you, and encourage others to give it a try instead of bashing what people do or don’t do.
With regard to your hurtful comment about the person who commented on her mother’s death due to cancer, I can only assume that both your parents are alive and well, or passed away peacefully due to natural causes. Certainly, no one who has ever buried a love one due to cancer could make such a hurtful comment.
Shame on you !
P.S. I did not post this to begin a debate with you either. This is a site where people go to find support.
Dennis,
How terrible of you to judge me about setting my quit date to the day of my beloved mother’s passing. How dare you! You seem like a pompous jerk! We are here on this site to help each other, not to discourage anyone. You, Dennis, should not be writing here at all because you think YOUR way is the ONLY way. So sorry, but we are people who are (or have been) addicted to nicotine. Some may smoke just for the sake of doing something with their hands. Obviously, you are unable to quit your habit by needing an e cigarette.
Please do not post anymore hurtful writings. And Debra said it all. She is now struggling with her quit, and believe me, she encouraged me to find a quit date. God bless her for that!
My date is still Tuesday, September 1 and I am so much looking forward to it. My mother is in heaven, looking down on me, and I’m sure she is very proud that I will quit once again.
Again, shame on you.
Marilyn
im sorry, but i did find it a little hard to take when someone says they are giving up on the day there mother died and looking foward to it, why put it off.
i have posted before on the e cigarette and i found it so easy to just give up on the spot. i really dont see the problem with being judgemental at all, some of the posts on here are like kids crying and being so proud to have gone a day without the weed.
i know thats harsh, but perhaps my problem is the fact i found an easy way out and cannot understand the problems you may have, for that i apologise.
i just bought an e cigarette an gave up the moment i tried one, guess i had it easy,
regards dennis
Hi Debra,
How are you doing today with your quit? I hope you are finding it a little easier than the first day. I have only a couple more days until I quit and I cannot wait! Thank you for responding to Dennis as you did, that was so nice of you.
Let me know how you are and thank you for giving me the encouragement to quit smoking on September 1.
All my best,
Marilyn
HI Debra, I’ve done fantastic today! No smokes since 10:00 pm last night. I have tried the quit meter but am having a hard time downloading it. I used to use whyquit.com meter but it doesn’t seem to be working properly. Oh well, I will use the meter on my computer tomorrow. I am feeling very tired today, but I have to admit, I did not have many urges to smoke today. I am sure tomorrow will be worse than today, and the third day is usually the most difficult for me.
Debra, I am so excited that I have come at least this far once again. As I said, finding the quit date to me is the most difficult.
How are you today? I cannot believe how fast the time is going by for you. You must feel wonderful I bet. You should be so proud of yourself!
I will write again tomorrow to let you know how I did with the non-smoking.
Take care and thank you so much for your support.
Marilyn
Well, Dennis, you certainly seem sure of yourself! Must be something to see the world so clearly in blacks and whites.
A while ago, I sent you a reply to a previous message that contained a link to a site with what I thought was interesting information concerning possible dangers associated with long-term use of e-cigarettes. Did you look at it? If not, because your mind is already made up, then that tells me a lot.
It’s true that from time to time, one can find some fairly silly posts here. After all, it’s a public forum. But the ones that come from the heart – like the ones you mentioned in your note – are NOT silly. So you’ve apologized – which was appropriate and that should be the end of it. Let’s not stir things up unnecessarily. As Debra says: this site needs to offer support to people who are trying to stay with their decision to quit smoking. We don’t all find it as easy as you say you do.
Dennis, on my mother’s death bed, she held my hand and begged me to quit smoking. I miss her very very much especially since her death was so needless. If only she quit smoking when she was younger… Some people find that making a pledge on a loved one’s day can be very special. All I can see even today are my mother’s warm eyes, looking at me, pleading with me that I do not get sick like she did. My children were very young when she passed. Now, I have a beautiful two year old grandson who I want to see grow up. I do not want to die as my mom did, but want to live a full, happy, smoke free life!
I wish you luck with your e-cigs. Hey, we all have our own way of quitting any kind of addiction. Yours is with the e-cigs. Just curious, do they have any taste? ARe they addictive too? Just wondering.
Thanks.
Marilyn
Marilyn, don’t let fools or their foolishness get to you! The important thing is to stay with your quit, one day at a time. Like TODAY.
Best,
–Bill
Bill, thanks so much for your words of encouragement. I know what you mean about the “fools”. I noticed he did not reply to anyone since his last writings. What a fool! hahaha
I enjoy all your writings. Are you still having just one cigarette a week? God bless you if you can do just that. I tried it back in June when I started again after two months but I shortly went back to the pack a day (or more).
Just a couple more days and I’ll be working on my smoke free life.
Marilyn
Well, good luck on that. I think it’s a good idea to emphasize a quit date – makes the whole exercise seem more important. And it IS an important exercise: Life-altering, actually.
As for my “pack-a-week” schedule: I wouldn’t really characterize it that way. I would go without smoking forever if only I could! But sometimes pressures/stresses/shit-that-happens gets to the point where I have an occasional slip. I’ve described above what I do then to control the MAGNITUDE of the slip, by keeping it to a few puffs on one cigarette before trashing the rest. I don’t know if it averages out to one-cigarette-per-week or not. But that’s probably close. I’ve also learned that I CANNOT have a pack available, or I will sneak them, one-at-a-time: So it is essential that I get rid of the new pack after those stolen puffs and make it TRULY unavailable.
Most important: I DO NOT recommend this method across the board. I acknowledge that it’s risky, and I’m not entirely sure why it seems to be working for me. But it has worked for four months in the sense that I have not gone back to regular smoking since my own quit day. At this point, I don’t think I ever will – but of course, we will see, one day at a time. Eventually, of course, the whole idea is to get to a point where I no longer have those urges to smoke – zero. They are getting less and less frequent, but I still have a way to go.
Many years ago, a colleague of mine lost his father to lung cancer, and there was a similar deathbed pledge. My colleague quit. Perhaps he would have quit anyway, but who knows?
So good luck. It’s important.
Bill,
I still applaud you for having just a few puffs. I could never ever do that. Actually, that’s what I did and simply started smoking immediately. I pray that on Tuesday, I will finally quit forever. Isn’t it such a horrible addiction? Geez!!!!
I will keep you posted on how I do with my quit. Thank you so much for writing.
Marilyn
I would do the same as you. I would buy a pack and smoke one cigarette and throw the rest away. Then I would keep 3 or 4 cigarettes out of the next pack and smoke them over the course of the day. One time I threw the pack out the window of my car and went back the next day and recovered the pack. This was insane. If I smoke one more God Damm cigarette it will be only a few days before I start all over again. The withdrawal symtoms only get worse. I don’t want to be glared at as a stupid person for smoking-it doesn’t make sense. I am determined to quit forever.
Sounds good Marilyn. But you know very well that the next few days are not going to be easy! I think there are at least two plateaus. One at about ten days (this is the worst part by far) and the second sometime out around four to five months. Right now, you have to concentrate on the TEN-DAY PLATEAU. At least that is the way it has been for me.
Keep your eyes on the prize: a healthier life with NO cigarettes!
Good luck,
–Bill
Hi Marilyn !
I’m so happy for you ! You did it !! It’s great. It’s fabulous ! You have already saved $9.00 !
I’m counting my savings; going to buy myself something great. I was thinking of you this afternoon when I felt like going to the store and buying a pack…but then I thought “gosh, how would I explain that to Marilyn ”
Be sure to write me back….Ya, my first week has flown by; I’m still not that happy though. I get really cranky and oh the food I am consuming is enough to make me sick. I’m eating way too much..but I’ll deal with that in another week or so.
Keep up the great work !
Debra
Hi Debra and Bill…I’m on day 3 now! Yesterday was really difficult for me, but I did get through it with prayers and deep breaths.
I’m off to work now. I’ll write later.
Thank you again for all your support.
Marilyn
Good job Marilyn Im praying for you also. My quit meter tells me that…
I have been quit for 3 Months, 6 Days, 9 hours, 11 minutes and 33 seconds (98 days). I have saved $354.17 by not smoking 1,967 cigarettes. I have saved 6 Days, 19 hours and 55 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 5/27/2009 11:00 PM… I check in to see how you are doing also everyday so your not alone…
Hi Lori,
Today was not a good day for me. I was fine this morning, happy to start my third day, which I have always found to be the most difficult. A situation arose when I was at work this morning. I became very worried and nervous about a family member, actually I started to shake because of my nerves. I was around smokers most of this afternoon which didn’t help either. Needless to say, I smoked three cigarettes today. I am somewhat disappointed in myself, but I am hoping that tomorrow will bring on a happier day for me. I read that when quitting smoking, we should be in a calm environment, away from smokers in order to succeed. Well, today met all the criteria to not do well.
I will write again tomorrow with all good news about my quit. Hey, I had a small slip. IN fact, I don’t even want one tonight.
Thanks for listening.
Marilyn
Hey Debra! Where are you? How are you today?
Hi Marilyn:
Do we have the same family ? The same exact thing happened to me today; only I smoked 5 cigarettes !! I would write more, but it would only be negative and that’s not healthy for anyone to read. I’m so angry that I don’t have enough energy to be angry at myself ! ( does that make sense).
Ya, let’s both get back on that wagon tomorrow…..
Debra
Hi Debra,
Oh well, we had a slip. No big deal if we plan to not smoke again starting today. I keep thinking of that first day, how difficult it is to choose a day. I can still breath a little better, and I am still going to right against smoking! So, Debra, think of how much better you feel, how you were coughing so bad that you put the cigarettes down. Don’t be angry at yourself, be proud that today you will be right back to where you were a day ago. No need to feel bad, just be happy today! You are still a non-smoker!
Best of luck to you today my friend,
Marilyn
Well, okay Jimmy. I don’t claim it works for everyone, and I do NOT endorse it as a sensible way to quit smoking. But I can say that it has helped me, and that I have been off regular smoking for more than four months. As a matter of fact, I believe that I will NEVER go back to regular smoking. That’s the holy grail, isn’t it? At least, it is the holy grail for me.
I think that there may be SOME other people out there for whom this could be a positive thing. Maybe not you, unfortunately, but maybe others. I don’t know how many, and I wouldn’t know how to talk to them as a group. All I can say is that HERE IS MY OWN STORY. For whatever it may be worth.
Best wishes to all,
—Bill
Hi Bill,
Great post to Debra. I had a 15 year quit until I started again two years ago. After a year, I had absolutely no desires or urges to ever smoke again. In fact, a family death occurred two years ago in which I became hysterical. Outside the hospital where a family member passed, another in-law told me I needed a cigarette. I refused because I didn’t want one. She insisted and I took just one. That one cigarette cost me thousands of dollars soon to go into the third year of smoking.
Debra did offer fantastic advice for me. I will definitely dress up as a smoker on Halloween and put that last cigarette out in a dirty ashtray! I love the idea.
Thanks all for motivating me. I am scared, but now I at least have a quit date.
Marilyn