Benefits of Quitting Smoking
Positive Effects of Stopping Smoking

The benefits of quitting smoking are numerous. When you quit cigarette smoking the many advantages of giving up smoking will be evident in your wallet, your health, and your family life.

The benefits of giving up smoking go way beyond just improving your respiratory health. By getting rid of your nicotine addiction the many health risks of smoking go down with each smoke free day.

Your body actually gets a chance to recover, cleanse, and rebuild if you stop loading it with all the toxic ingredients in cigarettes.

Positive Health Effects of Stopping Smoking

• reduced cancer risk - within 10 years your risk of lung cancer falls by half. In fact smoking is a cancer risk factor so one of the main health benefits of quitting smoking is a reduction in your risk to develop cancer of any type.


• improved heart health - smoking is one of the main risk factors for heart disease and a major factor in causing heart attack.


• improved lung capacity - your lungs will be able to cleanse themselves of debris and you will be less susceptible to respiratory infections or chronic respiratory illnesses like chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)


• improved circulation - your body has more capacity to carry oxygen to all the places it is needed including your skin and your risk for atherosclerosis disease goes down.


• longer life expectancy -on average smokers have a life span about 8 to 10 years shorter that non-smokers. If you do not quit cigarette smoking you could miss seeing some of your unborn grandchildren!


• your children are less likely to smoke - parental smoking is a major influence as to whether children start smoking. So once of the main advantages of giving up smoking today is that you protect the health of your children (and grandchildren).


• improved cash flow - you can spend your money on something that is actually beneficial for you and your family.

The Short Term Benefits of Quitting Smoking - the First Week

Here is a more detailed explanation of what happens when you quit smoking cigarettes in the short term and the longer term.

20 minutes	About 20 minutes after your last cigarette your blood pressure and pulse will return to normal. The vasoconstrictive effects of nicotine wear off so your circulation improves especially to your hands and feet.
8 hours later	The level of oxygen in your body rises back to normal levels and believe it or not your risk of suffering a heart attack goes down.
12 hours later	Carbon monoxide levels in your body will start to fall.
one full day later (24 hours)	Your lungs will start to cleanse themselves of the debris that has been accumulating there.
two days after your last cigarette	Nicotine will have left your system. Your sense of taste and smell will start to improve.
3 days after you quit cigarette smoking	Your lung capacity should start to improve. You should also notice more energy.

The Long Term Health Benefits of Quitting Smoking

Weeks 2 through 12...	Circulation to your whole body improves bringing about improvement to your skin which has been starved of oxygen. You should notice an improvement in your overall appearance, especially on your face.
Months 3 - 9...	Your lung capacity should have improved by more than 10%. This will be even higher if you have put an exercise program into your life that includes a bit of heavy breathing.
5 years after you quit cigarette smoking....	You have reduced your risk of dying from a heart attack by more than 50%.
10 years after you quit cigarette smoking....	You will be 50% less likely to develop lung cancer than you were as a smoker and your risk of suffering a heart attack is about the same as a person who has never smoked.

Smoking Facts About Other Benefits of Quitting Smoking

When you quit cigarette smoking your improve your health and you lengthen your life expectancy. However, there are many advantages of giving up smoking not just health improvements.

Fewer Health Risks for Your Family

Not only do you protect your own health when you quit smoking but you improve the health of your children and those around you because they are are no longer vulnerable from the effects of secondhand smoking.

Children who have parents who smoke are more likely to suffer from asthma and other respiratory conditions and are more likely to become a smoker.

More Money for You and Your Family

Is there really a good reason to spend your money on something that produces no benefit or enhancement to your life? Calculate the financial benefits of quitting smoking with this handy calculator.

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