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
• Body temperature of hands and feet increases

At 8 hours:

• Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal
• Oxygen level in blood increases to normal

At 24 hours:

• Chance of a heart attack decreases

At 48 hours:

• Nerve endings start regrowing
• Ability to smell and taste is enhanced
• Shortness of breath decreases

At 2 weeks to 3 months:

• Circulation improves
• Walking becomes easier
• Lung function increases
   

1 to 9 months:

• Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decreases even more
  

1 year:

• Excess risk of coronary heart disease is decreased to half that of a smoker
   

At 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
• Risk of ulcer decreases
   

At 15 years:

• Risk of coronary heart disease is now similar to that of people who have never smoked
• Risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked