Benefits of Quitting Tobacco

Last Updated: Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The Benefits of Quitting Tobacco

Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Program Line
 1-866-557-STOP (7867)

Ohio Tobacco Quit Line

1-800- Quit Now

1-800-784-8669

How does your body change when you quit smoking?

Within 20 minutes:

Blood pressure and pulse rates decrease.

Body temperatures of the hands and feet increase.

Within 24 to 48 hours:

Chances of a heart attack decreases.

Ability to smell and taste improves.

Within 2 weeks to Circulation improves.

3 months:

Walking becomes easier.

Within 1 to 9 months:

Coughing decreases in most people.
Congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decreases.

Within 1 year:

Added risk of heart disease drops by half.

Within 5 to 15 years:

The risk of stroke drops to that of people who have never smoked.

Within 10 years:

The risk of cancer of the lung, mouth, throat, Esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas also decreases.

Within 15 years:

Risk of coronary heart disease is now similar to that of people who have never smoked.

The risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked.

Source:  Pathways to Freedom, Winning the Fight against Tobacco
Dept of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention