Health benefits
Smoking is the UK’s number one cause of avoidable premature death, linked to a range of serious and often fatal conditions.
Here’s the good news: the health benefits begins almost as soon as you quit. After…
| 20 minutes | Blood pressure and pulse return to normal |
| 8 hours | Nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in the blood are halved, oxygen levels in the blood return to normal |
| 24 hours | Carbon monoxide is eliminated from the body and the lungs start to clear out the build up of tar |
| 48 hours | There is no nicotine left in the body. Taste and smell are greatly improved. |
| 72 hours | Breathing becomes easier, bronchial tubes begin to relax, energy levels increase |
| 2 - 12 weeks | Circulation improves, making walking and running a lot easier |
| 3 – 9 months | Coughs, wheezing and breathing problems improve as the lungs have room for up to 10 per cent more oxygen |
| 1 year | Risk of heart attack is halved |
| 10 years | Risk of lung cancer is halved |
| 15 years | Risk of heart attack is at the same level as non-smokers |
- The risk of developing lung cancer, other cancers, heart attack, stroke and chronic lung disease is reduced - the sooner you stop smoking, the sooner your risk starts going down
- Stopping smoking at any age increases your life expectancy, provided that you stop before the onset of serious disease. Even if you have developed a disease, you can benefit from stopping as your body will be under less strain.
- A smoker who has suffered from a heart attack can halve the risk of a second heart attack by stopping smoking
- Ten years after quitting smoking an ex-smoker's risk of lung cancer is reduced by 30 to 50 per cent compared with that of a continuing smoker
- Smokers who stop before the age of 35 have a life expectancy not significantly different from that of a non-smoker
- Smokers who give up smoking between 65 and 74 years of age have a better life expectancy beyond 75 than those who continue to smoke