This is what will happen if you start to quit smoking

Smoking has a very wide adverse effect on our body, especially on lungs and respiratory tract. When a person inhales chemicals found in cigarette smoke, delicate lining of lungs becomes irritated and inflamed.

Smoker's lungs also experience increased mucus production and thickness. Because cilia function in clearing mucus more slowly than they are produced, mucus accumulates in airways, clogging them and can trigger coughing.

Although difficult to do, quitting smoking is the most appropriate and effective decision to prevent various diseases. For those of you who already have determination to quit smoking, you will generally feel certain effects right after you stop doing it.

What are effects after quitting smoking?

At first weeks after quitting smoking are usually the most difficult. It will take you about 8-12 weeks before being declared free of cigarette addiction and making peace with your new lifestyle as an ex-smoker.

As it turns out, your body will start repair process even just a few minutes after you quit smoking. The following is a time chronology of reactions that occur in body after last cigarette you smoked.

20 minutes

One of effects of smoking is blood pressure and increased heart rate due to content of cigarettes, especially nicotine, which poisons circulatory system. Effects of quitting smoking can be seen from first few minutes. Approximately 20 minutes after last cigarette, your heart rate will begin to decrease and stabilize to a normal level.

2 hours

Next benefit of quitting smoking is that tips of your fingers and toes will begin to feel warm due to gradually restoring peripheral blood circulation. However, during this period of time you will be vulnerable to nicotine withdrawal.

8-12 hours

Carbon monoxide if consumed in large quantities will replace oxygen to bind to red blood cells and cause various heart problems. During first 8 hours after you stop smoking, carbon monoxide levels in body begin to decrease and are replaced with oxygen.

24 hours

Chance of a heart attack in smokers group was higher when compared to the non-smoker group, which reached 70 percent.

Good news, next effect of quitting smoking is to reduce risk of a heart attack that has been haunting you. This happens after first 24 hours after you quit smoking. Smoker's lungs will also begin to slough off mucus and toxic substances that stick to your airways.

Also pay attention to withdrawal symptoms that usually appear in this phase. As your lungs start to improve, you may experience common cold symptoms (sore throat, cough, and other breathing problems).

48 hours

Nicotine causes chemical addiction so that it gives a signal to body to meet need for nicotine to a certain level. If this need is not met, cigarette addiction can lead to decreased sensory function, especially sense of smell and taste.

After 48 hours, effect after quitting smoking that occurs is that nerve endings will grow back so that two senses will work as usual.

3 days

At this stage, all remaining nicotine levels in your body will disappear completely. Bad news is that it is also in this phase that withdrawal symptoms are prone to arise and increase. You may experience nausea, cramping, and various emotional problems in addition to initial symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.

Tensions and cravings slowly build up during this phase and can sometimes become unbearable. To fight addiction, reward or treat yourself to a personal record of current smoking-free accomplishments.

2-12 weeks

Overall, smoking affects your blood circulation, making any physical activity you perform strenuous and excruciating. As a result, your body's health declines.

After weeks of being free from nicotine, you can feel another smoking cessation effect, which is being free to do other physical routines without feeling sick and tired.

This energy recovery is caused by body's regenerative process starting to become active again. Your lung and breathing function will also begin to improve. Generally, withdrawal symptoms will begin to decrease when a person successfully reaches this phase.

3-9 months

Months after you quit smoking, effects on your health will be even more positive.

Coughing, wheezing, and difficulty breathing due to smoking that you have been complaining about will slowly disappear along with the regenerative process of your lungs. The withdrawal symptoms will completely disappear at this stage.

1 year

This phase is a very monumental stepping stone for you.

After one year completely quitting smoking, dangers of smoking, such as risk of heart disease (coronary heart and stroke) will decrease dramatically by up to 50% when compared to when you were still smoking.

As already mentioned, quitting smoking is the most effective way to reduce risk of various chronic diseases in future. Good effects of quitting smoking will wear off when you decide to smoke again.

Therefore, love your body and those closest to you by not getting close to these bad habits. I am also a former smoker who decided to quit smoking in 2018, now is my fourth year living my days without smoking.

I'm sure, if you have a strong stance you will definitely succeed in quitting smoking. Love your body by not smoking!