Benefits of Quitting Tobacco Use

Some Benefits Occur Quickly, Others Take Time

Most people are aware that the overall health benefit of quitting using tobacco is huge. However, few are aware that many of those benefits occur in relatively short periods of time. While there will be obvious differences between specific individuals, the information below indicates that improvement in your health when you quit smoking begins in as little as 20 minutes and continues over a 10 year period. After that time, unless a tobacco-related health problem has already begun, an ex-smoker's risk of tobacco-related death and illness is dramatically reduced.

Check Out the Benefits of Your Quitting!

Time Period	Health Benefits
Within 20 Minutes	Blood pressure drops, pulse rates drops to normal, body temperature of hands and feet return to normal
Within 8 Hours:	Carbon Monoxide levels in the blood return to normal
Within 24 Hours:	Risk of heart attack decreases
Within 48 Hours	Ability to smell and taste improves
Within 72 Hours:	Breathing gets easier as bronchial tubes relax. lung capacity increases
Within 3 Weeks:	Mucus in the lungs loosens, lung function and circulation improves
Within 2 Months:	Blood flows more easily to arms and legs, lung function increases up to 30%
After 3 Months	Lungs become more healthy, you breather more easily, you get fewer colds
After 1 Year:	Risk of sudden death from heart attack is almost cut in half
After 5 Years:	Lung cancer death rate for the average smoker decreases nearly 50%
Within 10 Years:	Risk of sudden heart attack and strokes becomes almost the same as a nonsmoker, risk of cancer drop significantly

Source: (Burnside, G., Spiers, A., Winckles, W. Help Smokers Quit Kit. Ulster Cancer Foundation, Northern Ireland.)

Benefits of Quitting Tobacco Use

Some Benefits Occur Quickly, Others Take Time

Check Out the Benefits of Your Quitting!

Time Period

Health Benefits

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Utah Tobacco Facts 2010