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Just 20 minutes after quitting -

When you stop smoking, within 20 minutes your heart rate drops and your blood pressure returns to normal.

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Just 20 minutes after quitting -

Also within 20 minutes of stopping smoking, your blood pressure begins to drop and your circulation can improve.

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Carbon monoxide -

One of the toxins in tobacco products that kills us is carbon monoxide. It’s fatal in high doses, which is why people keep carbon monoxide detectors in their homes, much like they do smoke alarms.

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One day after quitting -

Within one day of quitting, the body cleanses itself of the excess carbon monoxide in your body from tobacco products. This increases the body’s oxygen levels, too.

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One day after quitting -

After a single day of quitting, the risk of having a heart attack begins to decrease. It becomes easier to exercise because the level of good cholesterol rises.

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One day after quitting -

After one day, the risk of heart disease and smoking-related high blood pressure drops. In this short amount of time, people’s oxygen levels will have risen, making exercise easier.

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Two day after quitting -

After two days of quitting, because smoking damages the nerve endings responsible for taste and smell, people will experience a heightened sense of taste and smell.

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Three days after quitting -

After three days of quitting, nicotine levels will have depleted, and although nicotine is in no way beneficial for the body, the body will begin to crave it. This will come in the form of withdrawal symptoms.

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Three days after quitting -

Exercise will continue to become easier, as cardiovascular endurance will have increased hugely.

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One month to three months after quitting -

From one month until three months, circulation in the body will continue to improve, and your lung capacity, oxygen levels, and levels of cardiovascular endurance will continue to improve.

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Three months after quitting -

After three months of stopping, women’s fertility is improved, and the risk of giving birth prematurely is decreased.

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Six months after quitting -

After six months, quitters will stop coughing up as much mucus and phlegm, and their airways will be much less inflamed.

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Six months after quitting -

After six months, you will also find that you handle stressful events a lot easier without feeling the need to smoke.

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Nine months after quitting -

After nine months of quitting, the lungs will have significantly healed themselves. The delicate hair-like structures, called cilia, will have recovered from the constant toll of smoke.

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Nine months after quitting -

Mucus that will have built up in the lungs will be lifted significantly as the cilia have recovered, because that is one of their functions. 

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Nine months after quitting -

Around this time (nine months), long-term smokers will have noticed a decrease in lung infections, such as bronchitis.

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One year after quitting -

After one year of quitting, a person’s risk of coronary heart disease will be cut in half. The risk of this disease will continue to decrease.

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Three years after quitting -

After three years of stopping smoking, the risk of a heart attack will have decreased to that of a non-smoker.

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Three years after quitting -

Because smoking damages the arteries' lining, causing fatty tissues to build up, the risk of having a stroke will have decreased significantly.

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Five years after quitting -

After five years of not smoking, the arteries and blood vessels will begin to widen again, meaning that the chances of blood clots and strokes also decrease significantly.

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Five to 10 years after quitting -

Over the next years, a person’s risk of a stroke will decrease more and more.

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About 10 years after quitting -

After 10 years, a person’s chances of developing lung cancer and dying from it are cut in half compared to someone who continues to smoke.

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About 10 years after quitting -

The risk of developing mouth, throat, bladder, kidney, or pancreatic cancer has also significantly reduced around the 10-year mark. 

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Some 15 years after quitting -

After 15 years of not smoking, the risk of a heart attack or stroke is the same as someone who never smoked.

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Some 15 years after quitting -

After 15 years of not smoking, the risk of coronary heart disease is also the same as that of someone who never smoked.

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Some 15 years after quitting -

After 15 years, the risk of developing pancreatic cancer is also reduced to that of someone who never smoked.

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About 20 years after quitting -

After 20 years of not smoking, the risk of death from smoking-related diseases like lung cancer drops to the level of a person who has never smoked before.

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The body does recover -

So here we have it—the benefits of stopping smoking kick in almost immediately. The body continues to recover until it is almost at the same risk of developing smoke-related diseases as someone who never smoked.

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It's never too late -

It isn’t easy, but it certainly is worth it for your health and happiness. There are many ways in which you can help yourself with quitting, like getting help. Those who seek professional help for stopping are significantly more successful with quitting.

Sources: (Healthline)(Verywell Mind)

See also: 30 top tips to stop smoking

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