Cigarette smoking and health risks are often talked about, and they should be. Everyone knows the obvious: cigarettes aren’t good for you. And maybe you knew that when you started smoking, but you started, so now you think there’s no real reason to stop. But there is. Cigarettes increase your health risk significantly, and quitting smoking at any age has its benefits.
According to the CDC, within 20 minutes after you smoke that last cigarette your body begins a series of changes that continues for years.
It may seem crazy, that 20 minutes isn’t enough time to actually start healing, but it’s the truth. Change can happen and improvements will last for years. The process of beginning to lead a healthy lifestyle starts with putting down the cigarettes, and it will continue for years after you don’t pick another one up.
The health benefits of putting down the cigarette today:
1. Twenty minutes after quitting — your heart rate drops.
2. Twelve hours after quitting — carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
3. Two weeks to three months after quitting — your heart attack risk begins to drop and lung functions begin to improve.
4. One to nine months after quitting — your coughing and shortness of breath decreases.
5. One year after quitting — your added risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.
6. Two to five years after quitting — your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker’s and your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder is halved within five years.
7. Ten years after quitting — your lung cancer death rate is about half that of a smoker’s and your risk of cancers of the kidney and pancreas decreases
8. Fifteen years after quitting — your risk of coronary heart disease is back to that of a non smoker’s.
When it’s laid out so simply, that your health and life could improve so much just by ending the toxic habit of smoking, why would you not want to try? Breathe easier and live longer. Put down the cigarette, throw out the pack, and take back your life.
