Smoking Timeline

Smoking Timeline

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What Happens When You Quit Smoking?

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Everyone who quits smoking goes through pretty much the same series of smoking withdrawal symptoms and quitting smoking side-effects. The timeframes may vary slightly due to the number of years of smoking, or how many cigarettes you smoked each day.

This is what is known as the Smoking Timeline.

20 Minutes After Quitting

Your blood pressure decreases,
Your pulse rate decreases,
Body temperature of hands and feet increases

8 Hours After Quitting

Damage caused by carbon monoxide starts to reverse as the carbon monoxide level in the blood decreases to normal,
Reduced carbon monoxide allows for an increase in blood oxygen level, back to normal levels

24 Hours After Quitting

Your chance of having a heart attack decreases,
You might feel strange,
You find it difficult to stay focussed,
You might feel restless,
You experience strong urges for a cigarette,
Your body is getting rid of the nicotine

2 Days After Quitting

Your nerve endings start to re-grow,
Your ability to taste and smell are enhanced

3 Days After Quitting

This is the hardest – the peak of first three days,
Your body is screaming out for a cigarette,
Food loses taste again,
Coughing increases,
Constipation is a common symptom

4 Days After Quitting

Your ability to smell and taste improves dramatically,
Your breathing becomes easier

5 Days After Quitting

Things get much better,
Your taste buds come back,
You are able to breathe much better,
Your sanity returns

7 days After Quitting

The good effects of not smoking start to show,
Your teeth become brighter,
You smell better,
You might be craving something sweet

2 Weeks to 3 Months After Quitting

Your circulation improves,
Walking becomes easier,
Phlegm production decreases,
Your lungs become cleaner which reduces risk of infection
Smoker’s cough improves and you don’t wheeze as often,
Fatigue is reduced, giving you more energy

Several Months After Quitting (1-9 Months)

There is significant improvement in your lung function
There is a decrease in coughs, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath,
Tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of lungs regain normal function – cleaning lungs and reducing infection.
Your energy levels are greatly increased

1 Year After Quitting

Your risk of coronary heart disease and heart attack is reduced by half,
The risk of getting cancer is greatly reduced

5+ Years After Quitting

Your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker

10 Years After Quitting

Your chance of developing lung cancer drops,
There is a significant decrease in your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas,
Your risk of lung cancer is greatly reduced but remains higher than in people who have never smoked

15 Years After Quitting

Your risk of coronary heart disease and heart attack is similar to that of people who have never smoked

GET YOUR OWN COPY OF THE SMOKING TIMELINE

Smoking IS harmful to your health. Quitting smoking will have a positive impact on your health.

Please consult your doctor for the options available to help you quit, and to monitor your health during the quitting process.

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748 Responses to "Smoking Timeline"

Kim says:

May 16, 2012 at 11:28 pm

Hi All,

Safe travels Mary…thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I am right behind you…today marks 17 weeks for me and this weekend will make 4 months… AMAZING! You are so right Mary… the effects of quitting are so different from one person to another…thus is the reason that I have found this forum to be so beneficial. Again…prayers.

TRL… so glad that you stumbled upon us… I did the same thing, I was looking for withdrawal symptoms… and boom I have been here ever since… Don and Fee (vets) are awesome and those that are on the same journey are so inspirational… so everybody here gets it… that in its self is priceless. Congrats on your 4 days…when I was at your point I figured hours because it sounded like more =) but really TRL you as far as I am concerned are at the most crucial time… keep fighting that nicotine monster… know that he will use ANYTHING… any situation against you… he still creeps onto my shoulder… some days he clings on harder than others… I choose to see it as that rather than seeing that I may be weaker some days than others… I just keep flicking him off…because I LOVE breathing and being free of the chains of a poison stick. Another piece of advice… I was looking for something to replace the ZING in my brain… I found jelly beans… stay away… I ate 6 to 7 bags in 6 weeks, gained 15 pounds and my liver enzymes went thru the roof and I was told that I had a fatty liver…try and stick with WATER for the detoxing and fruit… my little sister chews the heck out of gum and she is at 5 weeks. I did some research on detoxing and your liver…it may help you and others to understand more of what all your body is going thru right now. =) I have lost some weight and I have also noticed that my skin tone all over has firmed up…not just from the exercising but I believe from the oxygen getting to all of my organs and so forth. Stay strong and know that we are here… you can vent, you can gloat and you can share… it is a perfect place for me =)

Today I am 17 weeks… 119 days = 2380 poison sticks HAVE NOT touched my lips… saving not only my life but my pocket of approximately $535.00. Oh and another way to look at it is … I am 3 days away from being SMOKE FREE for 1/3 of a year…. 365 / 3 = 121.666666 days! I am 4 MONTHS smoke free on Friday 5/18/2012… any way that you cut it, slice it, or dice it I AM SMOKE FREE!

As always…keep it real and keep it smoke free!

-Kim

Fee Nunn says:

May 17, 2012 at 3:22 am

Hi TRL and welcome aboard our beautiful wagon!

You’re doing brilliantly and although no-one will tell you that it is easy, quitting smoking is the best gift you can give yourself and is SO worth working hard for. As Don has already said, read the timeline often (its fascinating learning what your body is going through) and take time to read the popular pages articles. There are many hints and tips that will inform you what to expect and maybe even may put your mind at rest that what you are experiencing isn’t unusual in any way.

This site is for ALL people at different stages of their quit journey and every single one of us has been where you are right now, even us ‘Vets’ as Kim calls us There are no doctors giving advice here, no counsellors or smoking cesation specialists, we’re just a community of smoke-free individuals all with a mission to stay smoke-free FOREVER and help others to reach their smoke-free goals.

As Kim says, visit us to rant, gloat, triumph and question, that’s what we’re here for.

Great to have you with us and we can’t wait to hear an update of how you’re doing.

XX Fee

Tankchua says:

May 17, 2012 at 12:39 pm

Thank you Rog, Fee Kim and Mary for your kind words. You are all absolutely right, and it helps so to be amongst people who understand. Support from you guys played a part in me overcoming this hurdle. My family is supportive but it is impossible for anyone who has never smoked and quit to understand that feeling of utter despair when the craving hits, and that same despair when you do cave in to that craving. I have quit and failed more times than I care to remember and I just know I don’t want to start over again. So for now it’s 7 months and counting..

Fee Nunn says:

May 18, 2012 at 7:32 am

Hi Tankchua

You know that you are more than welcome. Helping people like you is what makes us happy and people like you are what make others come back for more!

Stay positive

XX Fee

Fee Nunn says:

May 18, 2012 at 7:35 am

Hi Everyone,

Nearly at the weekend now!

Here’s another one to help keep your motivation levels up:

“He who refuses to embrace a unique opportunity loses the prize as surely as if he had failed.” William James