More than 400,000 people try to quit smoking each year in the United Kingdom. It can be a difficult task, given the addictive nature of nicotine and the psychological impulse to keep smoking. However, the numerous health benefits obtained by quitting make it worthwhile – it can add years to your lifespan and greatly improve the quality of your life.
Greg Delaney from The E Cig Review Site tells us that when you stop smoking, your body will immediately begin to adapt to the absence of the nicotine, tar and toxic chemicals that tobacco smoke contains. While you will experience some withdrawal symptoms, your health will immediately improve very quickly. It can be hard to get through the first few months, especially if you’re going cold-turkey. Unfortunately, many people who go cold-turkey relapse, which is why vaping is recommended as an alternative to get you through the symptoms of withdrawal. You can easily get vapes and vape cartridges online nowadays which also come in a variety of flavours, making it a more enjoyable experience than smoking anyway and therefore helping you to quit. This article will explain the changes that happen to your body when you quit smoking. Understanding your body’s reaction to quitting will help you get off cigarettes once and for all.
20 minutes after you quit
One of the most positive effects of quitting will be felt almost immediately. Your heart rate and blood pressure will begin to return to a normal levels twenty minutes after your last cigarette.
2 hours after you quit
By the two hour mark, your heart rate and blood pressure levels have returned to normal levels. Depending on the extent of your nicotine addition, you may begin to feel some withdrawal symptoms at this point. They may include cravings for a cigarette, anxiety, frustration, stress, drowsiness, insomnia, and an increased appetite.
12 hours after you quit
Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas that is contained within tobacco smoke. When you smoke, carbon monoxide is absorbed through your lungs and transmitted into your blood stream, where it bonds with blood cells. When carbon monoxide bonds with blood cells, it prevents oxygen from bonding with that cell. This lack of oxygen can lead to certain health problems including heart damage. After 12 hours the amount of carbon dioxide in your blood will decrease and the amount of oxygen in your blood will increase.
24 hours after you quit
By this stage, your cravings for cigarettes will be at its highest. It will remain at this level for at least two weeks. Your risk of coronary heart disease also begins to decline at this point. Smokers are 70% more likely to get coronary heart disease than non-smokers. It is one of the leading causes of death in the United Kingdom. After 24 hours of not smoking, your risk of having a heart attack has also started to decline!
48 hours after you quit
Smoking irritates the nasal passages and causes inflammation. Over time, this inflammation damages the nerve endings in the nose, reducing your ability to smell and taste. 48 hours after quitting, the nerve endings in your nose will start to grow back – allowing your sense of smell and taste to return. If you love your food, you will really enjoy this perk of quitting!
72 hours after quitting
Nicotine is the addictive component of tobacco. After 72 hours, your body will be 100% nicotine free and most of chemical bi-products of nicotine will be gone from your body. Some people may experience severe cravings for cigarettes at this point and have feelings of anxiousness or restlessness.
The bronchial tubes in your lungs are also starting to relax at this point. They are the pathways that carry oxygen from the lungs into tiny balloon-like sacs called alveoli that feed oxygen into the blood stream. You will find it easier to breath and exercise will be more enjoyable.
7 days after quitting
At this point, you are still dealing with the withdrawal symptoms of nicotine – however, you are halfway through the “really difficult” part of quitting. You can expect 3 to 4 episodes of severe cravings each day. Each episode will last for a few minutes.
10 days after quitting
After 10 days, the number of cravings for cigarettes you experience each day will be decreasing. Most people only have 2 episodes per day.
14 days after quitting
Well that wasn’t too bad! At this point, you have beaten your nicotine addiction and your body will no longer be craving cigarettes. However – your psychological addiction to cigarettes could still be a factor causing you to relapse. Avoid smokey environments and move away from people who are smoking.
21 days after quitting
By this stage, all of your nicotine withdrawal symptoms should definitely be gone. You will no longer be experiencing depression, anxiety, insomnia or difficulty concentrating from nicotine withdrawal. Talk to your doctor if you are still experiencing these symptoms, as they will be able to provide you with the best course of action. Whether that be taking some medication to help with your depression, anxiety and insomnia, or whether they suggest that you should look to buy topicals online because medicinal cannabis has been known to help with these ailments, either option can make a difference to the withdrawal stage of the process. The changes that nicotine made to your brain chemistry will also be reverted by this point.
Your circulation has begun to improve by this point and will continue to do so over the next few months. Performing exercise will be much easier and your chronic smoker’s cough should have disappeared by now. You will also notice that you can also think more clearly and your work performance has improved.
4 weeks after quitting
The inflammation in your body caused by smoking has gone. That means your risk of cancer, diabetes and other conditions has decreased.
1 to 9 months after quitting
Any breathing issues relating to smoking have begun to improve. That includes shortness of breath, pulmonary fatigue, and sinus congestion. Microscopic hairs called cilia have begun to regrow in your lungs. They are responsible for keeping your lungs clean, helping your body to deal with infections and remove mucus. They will help you deal with any illnesses that affect your respiratory system – like the common cold.
1 year after quitting
Pat yourself on the back – your risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and heart attack are half what they were a year ago!
5 years after quitting
Your risk of having a subarachnoid haemorrhage (bleeding around the brain) is almost 60% lower than what it was when you smoked. Your risk of stroke is now identical to that of a non-smoker.
10 years after quitting
Your risk of having lung cancer is between 30 to 50% lower than it would be if you kept smoking. Lung cancer is one of the leading forms of cancer in the UK and kills more than 35,000 people each year. Your risk of pancreas cancer, mouth cancer, throat cancer and oesophagus cancer has also declined.
13 years after quitting
You probably have a better smile than you would have if you kept smoking! On average, smokers who make it to the age of 75 have 5.8 fewer teeth than non-smokers. Your teeth also look better than they would if you kept smoking because they won’t be stained by tar from cigarette smoke. So smile, you look great!
15 years after quitting
Your risk of pancreatic cancer and heart disease have declined to the same level as that of a non-smoker.
