Benefits of Quitting: What Happens To Our Bodies?
One of the myths of quitting tobacco is…
“It’s too late anyway, the damage is already done.”
Not True.
It’s never too late to quit. Benefits of quitting start right away. According to the physicians at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, when smokers quit, there are numerous benefits both short-term and long-term:
- After 20 minutes: Your heart rate drops.
- After 12 hours: Carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
- Within 3 months: Circulation improves and lung function increases.
- Within 9 months: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease, and you reduce risk of respiratory infections.
- After 1 year: Excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.
- After 5 years: Stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker’s.
- After 10 years: Lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker’s. Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decreases.
- After 15 years: Risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker’s