Within 20 minutes of smoking your last cigarette, your body begins a series of changes that continue for years.
- 20 minutes after quitting, your heart rate drops
- 12 hours after quitting, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to near normal
- 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting, your heart attack risk begins to drop; your lung function begins to improve
- 1 to 9 months after quitting, your coughing and shortness of breath decrease
- 1 year after quitting, your added risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker
- 5 to 15 years after quitting, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker
- 10 years after quitting, your lung cancer death risk is about half that of a smoker; your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas decreases
Watch this video for a deep-dive on what nicotine is and how it affects the body: