Wellness Wednesday tip from the Heskett Center
- Carbon monoxide in your body drops.
- Oxygen level in your blood increases to normal.
After two days:
- Your sense of smell and taste will improve. You will enjoy your food more.
- Your risk of heart attack begins to decrease.
After three-to-four days:
- Bronchial tubes relax and your lung capacity will have increased, making breathing easier.
After two weeks:
- Blood flow improves; nicotine has passed from your body.
Within two weeks to three months:
- Circulation will improve, making walking and running easier; lung functioning increases up to 30 percent.
Within six-to-nine months:
- You'll experience less coughing, sinus congestion, tiredness and shortness of breath.
After one year:
- Your risk of heart disease will be about half of what it would have been if you continued to smoke.
After five years:
- Your risk of stroke will be substantially reduced; within five-to-15 years after quitting, it becomes about the same as a nonsmoker.
After 10 years:
- Your risk of dying from lung cancer will be about half of what it would have been if you had continued to smoke.
- Your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas will also decrease.
Within 15 years:
- Your risk of dying from a heart attack is equal to a person who never smoked.
-- "When Smokers Quit: the health benefits." Tobaccofacts.com. British Columbia, Canada. 15 June 2009. http://www.tobaccofacts.org/quitting/when.html