When Smokers Quit...
20 minutes
8 hours
24 hours
48 hours
2 weeks to 3 months
1 to 9 months
1 year
5 years
10 years
15 years
- Blood pressure drops to normal
- Pulse rate drops to normal
- Body temperature of hands and feet increases to normal
8 hours
- Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal
- Oxygen level in blood increases to normal
24 hours
- Chance of heart attack decreases
48 hours
- Nerve endings start re-growing
- Ability to smell and taste is enhanced
2 weeks to 3 months
- Circulation improves
- Walking becomes easier
- Lung function increases up to 30 percent
1 to 9 months
- Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decrease
- Cilia re-grow in lungs, increasing ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, reduce infection
- Body’s overall energy increases
1 year
- Excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker
5 years
- Lung cancer death rate for average former smoker (one pack a day) decreases by almost half
- Stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5-15 years after quitting
- Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, and esophagus is half that of a smoker’s
10 years
- Lung cancer death rate similar to that of nonsmokers
- Precancerous cells are replaced
- Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas decreases
15 years
- Risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker
Tips for Quitting
Get ready
Get support and encouragement
Learn new skills and behaviors
Avoid triggers
Be prepared for relapse or withdrawal symptoms
- Set a date and stick to it
- Think about past quit attempts. What worked and what didn’t.
Get support and encouragement
- Tell your family, friends, and coworkers you are quitting
- Get group or individual counseling
- For free help, call (915) 534-QUIT or visit www.smokefree.quitnet.com
Learn new skills and behaviors
- Reduce stress, using exercise or relaxation techniques
- Find a hobby that requires using your hands
- Plan something to do every day
- Drink a lot of water and other fluids
- Eat a healthy diet to avoid excessive weight gain
- Drink less caffeinated beverages for the first few weeks
Avoid triggers
- Avoid contact with places where you smoke and with people who smoke
- Get rid of things that remind you of smoking like cigarettes, ashtrays, and lighters
- Seek the company of non-smokers
- Go to places where you cannot smoke
Be prepared for relapse or withdrawal symptoms
- Recognize withdrawal symptoms like tobacco cravings, difficulty concentrating, headaches, dizziness, or
- Relapses can occur, don’t feel like a failure; set another date and start the process again