Giving Up Smoking Now

A quit smoking timeline is helpful in determining just how your body will be affected by your decision to give up smoking. It doesn’t take long at all for your body to start feeling the effects of becoming a non-smoker and to begin repairing the damage that years of smoking have done.

Here are a few of the things you can expect as you go through the process of giving up smoking for good.

After 20 Minutes:

After the first 20 minutes without a cigarette, your blood pressure and pulse should start to normalize.

After 8 to 10 Hours:

The oxygen levels in your blood should also return to normal.

After 12 hours:

About 12 hours after your last cigarette, the amount of carbon monoxide in your blood stream is reduced by about half. You should start to feel more clear headed and be able to breath a little easier.

After 24 Hours:

Congratulations! You’ve survived your first full day as a non-smoker!

By now you should be noticing that you have a bit more energy, and that you can breathe a little more easily than yesterday. Your lungs will also start to empty themselves of all the mucus and other smoking debris that has been left behind.

Getting through the first 24 hours is a big step! You should pat yourself on the back because this is a great accomplishment.

After 48 Hours:

More congratulations are in order. You’re doing great!

At this point in your quit smoking timeline, most of the nicotine should be gone from your body. You are well on your way to beating this smoking habit for good!

Let’s jump ahead a bit now…

Between 2 and 12 weeks after you have quit smoking, you should notice that any circulation-related problems you may have had are improving. Your skin color should be much healthier as your blood flow is much more smooth than it was when you were clogging up your arteries with nicotine and all the other harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke.

Now is the perfect time to get out those sneakers and start a running or walking program.

Over the course of the first year, your lung function should improve by about 10 percent. This means you should notice an improvement in any breathing problems such as wheezing or coughing.

And it only gets better from here.

After about five years, your risk of heart attack will be reduced by about half. And after 10 years not only should your risk of heart attack be reduced to that of a person who has never smoked a day in their life, but your risk of lung cancer will also have fallen to about half of what it was when you smoked.

Congratulations!

Of course, this quit smoking timeline is only a guide. Your experience may be different, and you should always discuss any changes in your health with your own health care provider.

(Sources for this page include: nicorette.ca and Wikipedia)