Cigarette smoking is one of the major causes of cancerous death, but quitting can be more frightening. People think that it will take a long time to see improvement in health, but the benefit is as faster as an hour after the last cigarette and continues to improve. 

Quitting smoking refers to breaking the cycle of addiction and sending messages to the brain to stop craving for nicotine. To be a good quitter you need to have a plan, to beat the cravings and triggers. The benefits of quitting smoking start as fast as an hour after your last cigarette. The earlier the smoker quits, the sooner they will minimize the risk of cancer, heart disease, lung disease. 

Instant benefits of quitting smoking

After an hour – Within the 20 minutes of the last cigarette smoked, the increased heart rate drops and returns to normal. Elevated blood pressure decreases, and circulation improves.

After 12 hour – Cigarette contains toxin like carbon mono oxide, which is dangerous for the body and prevent oxygen from entering into lungs and blood. If the frequency of smoke inhaling increases within a short interval of time, suffocation can occur. After 12 hours of the last cigarette, the body cleans the excess carbon mono oxide which reduces its level in the body. 

After a day – Smoking raises the risk of developing CHD (Coronary Heart Disease), by lowering good cholesterol responsible for a healthy heart. After quitting smoking for a day, the person’s elevated blood pressure drops down gradually. 

After two days – Smoking damages the sensory nerves of smell and taste. After two days of quitting, a person may notice a heightened sense of smell and taste. 

After three days – The nicotine level gets depleted. The person may feel irritation, headaches, mood swings, and craving. 

After a month – a person's lung function improves after a month. There will be a decrease in the frequency of cough and breath shortness. It improves the stamina for running and jumping. He may feel good cardiovascular activity. 

After three months – Blood circulation continues to improve. 

After nine months – By this time lungs have significantly healed themselves. Former smokers may notice a decrease in the frequency of lung infections. 

After a year – The risk of coronary heart disease reduces by half. 

After five years – The body has healed its previously narrowed arteries and vessels to their normal width. This helps in avoiding blood clots. 

After ten years – a Person’s chance of having lung cancer reduces. The same as the risk of mouth cancer, throat cancer, and pancreatic cancer decreases significantly. 

After fifteen years – The person’s heart is now equivalent to a non-smoker. Thus, avoids heart diseases that could have occurred as a result of smoking.

After twenty years – The risk of death from smoking related reasons is negligible.

Smoking can give rise to a lot of health complications and death. When a person quits smoke, the body starts healing the organs naturally. However lower blood pressure is seen immediately after quitting, other effects such as lung disease, heart disease take years to come to the level of a non-smoker. As time passes by, the risk also decreases and improves overall health. Thus, quitting smoking is an outstanding choice for addicted smokers.