Stop Smoking and Improve Your Health in 20 Minutes
If you smoke your last cigarette now, your blood pressure decreases and your pulse rate drops within the next 20 minutes. You will also feel that your body temperature of your hands and feet will be increased. 8 hours from now the carbon monoxide level in the blood has dropped to a normal level and the oxygen level in the blood will be at a normal level.
After 24 hours the risk of a heart attack has decreased. And after 48 hours the nerve endings start to growth again. The smell- and tasting ability will also be improved. 72 hours from now your breathing will be easier.
In the following weeks and months your circulation will improve. You will also fell that your lung function will increase and walking will be easier. After the first month the nicotine withdrawal symptom will subside, so you only have to think about the psychological need for a cigarette.
One year from now, your risk of coronary heart disease will only be the half as today. This is a very important thing, because in the United States smoking is directly linked to 30 % of all heart disease deaths.
The long-term benefits do it also make it worth quitting the cigarettes. After 5 years the stroke risk is reduced to the same as people who have never smoked. And after 10 years the risk of lung cancer drops to as little as one-half that of continuing smokers. The risk of other types of cancer like mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas also decreases.
The risk of coronary heart disease will be the same of people who have never smoked after 15 years. And in many other ways will the risk of death be at nearly the same level of people who have never smoked.
So stop smoking today and see the result already tomorrow. But remember that it is an ongoing process to heal from a nicotine addiction. So expect quick improvements, but do also realize that other improvements will happen more step by step.
