If
you have not read my previous article ” Chemicals in Tobacco Cigarettes ” you can read it
by clicking the link.
Right
now is a great time to quit smoking. Why? In as little as 20 minutes you’ll
start to feel the benefits of not smoking.
Curious
how long nicotine
stays in your body? What types of nicotine withdrawal symptoms you’ll have?
Want to find out how many tobacco-free days it will take for your body to recuperate
and no longer be at risk of the dangers of smoking?
20 Minutes After You Quit
The
effects of quitting start to set in immediately. Less than 20 minutes after
your last cigarette, your heart rate will already start to drop back
towards normal levels.
Two Hours After You Quit
After
two hours without a cigarette, your heart rate and blood pressure will
have decreased to near healthy levels. Your peripheral circulation may
also improve. The tips of your fingers and toes may start to feel warm. Nicotine
withdrawal symptoms usually start about two hours after your last
cigarette. Early withdrawal symptoms include:
- intense cravings
- anxiety, tension or frustration
- drowsiness or trouble sleeping
- increased appetite
12 Hours After You Quit
Carbon
monoxide – which can be toxic to the body at high levels – is released from
burning tobacco and inhaled as part of cigarette smoke. Because carbon monoxide
bonds so well to blood cells, high levels of the substance can prevent these
cells from bonding with oxygen, which in turn causes
serious cardiovascular problems. In just 12 hours after quitting smoking, the carbon
monoxide in your body decreases to normal levels, and your blood oxygen
levels increase to normal.
24 Hours After You Quit
The
heart attack rate for smokers is 70 percent higher than for non-smokers. But,
believe or not, just one full day after quitting smoking, your risk for
heart attack will already have begun to drop. While you’re not quite out of
the woods yet, you’re on your way!
48 Hours After You Quit
It
may not be life-threatening, but deadened senses – specifically smell and taste
– are one of the more obvious consequences
of smoking. Luckily, after 48 hours without a cigarette, your nerve
endings will start to re-grow, and your ability to smell and taste is enhanced.
In just a little while longer, you’ll be back to appreciating the finer things
in life.
Three Days After You Quit
At
this point, the nicotine will be completely out of your body. Unfortunately,
that means that the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal will generally peak around
this time. You may experience some physical symptoms such as headaches, nausea,
or cramps in addition to the emotional symptoms mentioned in 12 Hours After You
Quit.
To
fight the mental symptoms, reward
yourself for not smoking; use the money you would have spent on cigarettes to
treat yourself to something nice.
Two to Three Weeks After You Quit
After
a couple of weeks, you’ll be able to exercise and perform physical activities
without feeling winded and sick. This is due to a number of regenerative
processes that will begin to occur in your body; your circulation will improve,
and your lung function will also improve significantly. After two or
three weeks without smoking, your lungs will start to feel clear, and you’ll start
breathing easier.
For
most smokers, withdrawal symptoms disappear about two weeks after
quitting.
One to Nine Months After You Quit
Starting
about a month after you quit, your lungs begin to regenerate. Inside
them, the cilia – the tiny hair-like organelles that push mucus out – will
start to repair themselves and function properly again. With the cilia now able
to do their job, they will help to reduce your risk of infection. With properly
functioning lungs, your coughing and shortness of breath will continue to
decrease dramatically.
Even
for the heaviest smokers, withdrawal symptoms will go away no more than
several months after quitting.
One Year After You Quit
The
one year mark is a big one. After a year without smoking, your risk for
heart disease is lowered by 50 percent compared to when you were still
smoking. Another way to look at it is that a smoker is more than twice as
likely as you are to have any type of heart disease.
Five Years After You Quit
A
number of the substances released in the burning of tobacco – carbon monoxide
chief among them – cause your blood vessels to narrow, which increases your
risk of having a stroke. After 5 to 15 years of being smoke-free, your risk
of having a stroke is the same as someone who doesn’t smoke.
10 Years After You Quit
Smokers
are at higher risk than non-smokers for a daunting list of cancers, with lung
cancer being the most common and one of the most dangerous. Smoking accounts
for 90 percent of lung cancer deaths worldwide. It’ll take 10 years, but if you
quit, eventually your risk of dying from lung cancer will drop to half
that of a smoker’s. Ten years after quitting, your risk of cancer of the mouth,
throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas also decreases.
15 Years After You Quit
Fifteen
years of non-smoking will bring your risk of heart disease back to the
same level as someone who doesn’t smoke. You’ll no longer be at a
higher-than-normal risk for a wide range of conditions like heart attack,
coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, angina, infections of the heart, or
conditions that affect your heart’s beating rhythms.
Long Term Benefits
The
long-term benefits of quitting smoking are fantastic. According to the American
Heart Association, non-smokers, on average, live 14 years longer than
smokers. Quit today, and you’ll extend your life span and live those extra
years with a functional cardiovascular system, while being active and feeling
great.
Source: http://www.healthline.com/
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