Smoking can cause a myriad of long-term adverse effects on the body, including heart disease, cancer, pneumonia, and diabetes. Ready to quit it?
Whether passive or active, smoking will surely take a toll on your health. By releasing thousands of detrimental chemicals into parts of your body, smoking will affect not only your lungs, but also your heart and other organs and structures in your body.
Gradually, these carcinogenic, toxic substances will result in severe complications and negative effects on your body, causing a multitude of health issues such as glaucoma, cancer, blood clotting, increased risk of cancer, damaged nervous system, chronic lung conditions, fertility, and sex hormones problems.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking is one of the world's top killers. In fact, the mortality rate for smokers is three times that of people who never smoked.
Is smoking cessation worth it?
Even if you have been dependent on nicotines for many years, the negative health effects of smoking can easily be reversed if you manage to quit it today.
Inevitably, smoking is a tough habit to kick, given its addictiveness. As a result, it is not only a battle of minds, but also one that requires a detailed plan to handle the cravings, especially in the first few weeks. And when you can refuse the temptation of those cigarettes, the benefits on your physical and mental health are worth it.
Below are some of the changes to your body that you can experience by quitting smoking today.
20 Minutes
Just 20 minutes after your last cigarette, your blood pressure and pulse will start to return to normal. You won't probably realize the effect at first, but gradually you will find your body getting better and better. In addition, your hands and feet will warm up to their normal temperature.
8 Hours
Within eight hours from your last cigarette, your carbon monoxide levels will drop back to its normal level. This is very beneficial to your body, as carbon monoxide is a toxic substance found in cigarettes. When entering your body, it will prevail and replace oxygen particles in your blood, lowering the amount of oxygen your tissues receive and causing a wide range of brain problems.
According to Webmd, you should try chewing gum, sipping water or simply playing games during this time frame to fight back the early cravings.
24 Hours
By the one-day milestone, you have already lowered your chances of having a heart attack. This is thanks to the reduced constriction of veins and arteries, coupled with the increased oxygen levels that support your body's functionings. You may realize you can smell and taste things better than you were before.
72 Hours
According to Healthline, 3 days after your last cigarette, your breathing will be easier as your lungs start to fill up with air and increase in capacity. This is because the bronchial tubes inside your lungs are now able to open up more and receive more oxygen than before - when it was hampered by the nicotines from cigarettes.
One week
At this time, you already made huge strides. The one-week milestone is very crucial in motivating you to stick to your plan of giving up smoking.
According to Medical News Today, smokers who successfully make it one week without smoking are nine times as likely to give up on nicotines, so stay focused!
Two weeks
According to the University of Michigan, your lung capacity will increase around 30% about two weeks after you give up on smoking. That makes your breathing easier and less pungent, thanks to improved circulation of oxygen particles.
One month
A huge milestone! One month after you said goodbye to that last cigarette, your body will begin to feel many noticeable health changes. Your energy will be boosted significantly, thus your productivity in work, study, and whatever you do.
One year
At the end of year 1, your lungs will have experienced significant improvements in terms of capacity and functioning. Your risk of heart disease is now half of what it was a year ago.
Don't forget to treat yourself, as you have also saved a good amount of money from not smoking those packs of cigarettes!
Five years
According to the University of North Carolina, your chances of a lug cancer, throat cancer, or bladder have dropped by half compared to when you smoked. Most importantly, your chances of a stroke is now just like a non-smoker.
Additionally, you will feel mentally motivated. You're no longer overwhelmed by the smoky gauzes from the cigarettes!
15 Years
Congratulations! You have reached the ultimate stage in the plan to quit smoking. At this milestone, your risk for heart attack and stroke has dropped back to equal that of a person who’s never smoked before.
Not only have you spared yourself from a wide range of health issues, but you have also helped other passive smokers in your family avoid its negative effects.
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