Benefits of Smoking Cessation

From the American Lung Assocation:

http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=33568

When smokers quit, within twenty minutes of smoking that last cigarette the body begins a series of changes.

At 20 minutes after quitting:
Blood pressure decreases, pulse rate drops, and body temperature of hands and feet increases.

At 8 hours:
Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal, and oxygen level in blood increases to normal.

At 24 hours:
Chance of a heart attack decreases.

At 48 hours:
Nerve endings start regrowing, and ability to smell and taste is enhanced.

At 2 weeks to 3 months:
Circulation improves, walking becomes easier, and lung function increases.

1 to 9 months:
Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decreases.

1 year:
Excess risk of coronary heart disease is decreased to half that of a smoker.

5 years:
From 5 to 15 years after quitting, stroke risk is reduced to that of people who have never smoked.

At 10 years:
Risk of lung cancer drops to as little as one-half that of continuing smokers, risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases, and risk of ulcer decreases.

At 15 years:
Risk of coronary heart disease is now similar to that of people who have never smoked, and risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked.

HAPPY QUITTING! =)