Key Takeaways:
- Your body begins healing immediately after your last cigarette, with heart rate, blood pressure, carbon monoxide levels, and senses improving within 48 hours
- Lung function, circulation, breathing, energy levels, and immune strength all improve significantly in the weeks and months after quitting.
- Risk of major diseases - heart attack, stroke, and several cancers - drops dramatically over 1-15 years, approaching the levels of a non-smoker
- Quitting reduces stress long-term by breaking the nicotine-withdrawal cycle that actually causes anxiety
- Appearance benefits include healthier skin, fewer wrinkles, whiter teeth, and stronger hair and nails
- Managing withdrawal is easier with hydration, avoiding triggers, keeping your hands and mouth busy, exercising, and getting support
- Vaping can be used as a to help smokers quit by offering controlled nicotine levels and a smoke-free alternative
Contents:
1. The Immediate Benefits of Giving Up Smoking
2. Long-Term Benefits When You Stop Smoking
5. The Role of Vaping In Your Stop Smoking Timeline
As soon as you put out your last cigarette, your body begins its healing process. When you stop smoking for good you experience an incredible transformation that benefits your physical health, mental health and your outward appearance. Find out what happens when you stop smoking and discover our stop smoking timeline to see how quickly you will start to reap the rewards.
THE IMMEDIATE BENEFITS OF GIVING UP SMOKING
You don’t have to wait too long for the positive changes to kick in.
LONG-TERM BENEFITS WHEN YOU STOP SMOKING
Once you experience the initial benefits, seeing what happens when you stop smoking permanently can be life changing.
1) IMPROVED PHYSICAL HEALTH
Your body is wonderfully resilient and the harmful side effects of smoking cigarettes will diminish considerably. Your physical health will begin to improve in the following ways:
Lung function - Your lungs will start to work much better over the course of the first year*2 making any kind of activity much easier to manage
Circulation - With better circulation, you’ll find it easier to exercise and stay active which, in turn, results in healthy heart function, and enhanced physical fitness
Breathlessness - Breathing will get progressively easier and any lingering ‘smokers cough’ will go away.
Energy - Without the harmful toxin from cigarettes in your body, you’ll notice an increase in increase in overall energy and stamina
Immunity - Chemicals in cigarette smoke can hinder your immune system. Without them, your immune system becomes stronger and better at fighting off infections like colds and the flu.
2) REDUCED RISK OF SERIOUS ILLNESS
The biggest benefit you’ll encounter when you stop smoking is a reduction in risk factors for chronic or life threatening illnesses. After just one year, your risk of having a heart attack*3 has halved to that of what it was when you were a smoker. The risk of having a stroke decreases; it can be the same as a non-smoker within five years of your last cigarette.
More than a quarter of all cancer deaths in the UK*4 can be attributed to smoking. However, by quitting smoking, you are half as likely to get cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder after the five year smoke free mark.
After 10 years, your risk of dying from lung cancer is around half that of a person who is still smoking. Within 10-15 years, your risk for many major conditions becomes close to that of someone who never smoked.
Smoking can even lead to:
- Problems with your hearing *5
- Issues with your vision *6
It can also contribute to:
- Joint pain
- Arthritis
- A range of digestive issues *7
The Alzheimer's society also reports on smoking as a risk factor for developing the disease.
3) BETTER MENTAL HEALTH
For many, smoking is anecdotally reported as a way to relieve stress. However, the opposite is actually true. Smoking a cigarette releases a chemical called dopamine, when this chemical begins to wear off, the craving for more creates a feeling of stress*8. When this cycle is broken, the body is finally able to relax. Being more in control of your life, your choices and your habits also creates a greater sense of wellbeing and accomplishment.
4) HEALTHIER APPEARANCE
The changes happening inside your body will start to show on the outside. With over 7000 compounds in cigarettes, it stands to reason that these will change your appearance. Smoking is known to cause premature aging including fine lines and wrinkles, and can make the skin look grey and tired. The yellowing effect on teeth and nails is a well known problem for smokers, and it has even been said to cause hair loss and greying.
When you quit smoking, the improved blood flow and circulation start to rejuvenate your skin, hair and nails. You’ll also stop any further impact and start to look and feel fresher.
YOUR STOP SMOKING TIMELINE
We’ve covered the many benefits of what happens when you stop smoking, so here’s a simple stopping smoking timeline to help you see how quickly your health will improve once you give up cigarettes.
MANAGING WITHDRAWAL
Even the 1 week smoke free benefits are enough of a reason to give up, but we know that withdrawal can be daunting. Here are some tried and tested tips to help you manage those first few days smoke free.
Drink water - Staying hydrated helps to flush toxins out of your system faster, and sipping cold water can help replace the hand-to-mouth motion.
Avoid triggers - If you’re a social smoker or like a cigarette on your lunch break, change your routine for a little bit to reduce the temptation.
Find alternatives - Chewing gum, mints, and even carrots or nuts & seeds can keep your mouth busy.
Exercise - Even a short walk can stop cravings becoming unmanageable, and light activity improves your mood too.
Get Support - Talk to friends, family and quit-smoking communities, and use resources like the NHS or Riot Rehab to find support groups.
THE ROLE OF VAPING IN YOUR STOP SMOKING TIMELINE
At Riot, we’re ambassadors of vapes being crucial tools for successful smoking cessation. The right type of vape with the right e-liquid strength can be the best tool in an ex-smokers quitting toolkit.
Using a vape kit either temporarily or long term is significantly less dangerous than smoking cigarettes*13 and, for many, is a legitimate transition that keeps them smoke free. E-liquids come in various nicotine strengths, allowing you to start with something similar to smoking and then tail off. You can even get completely nicotine free e-liquid that lets you enjoy big clouds and delicious flavours with no nicotine at all.
Discover more about our mission to make ditching cigarettes easier for all.
References:
1 - The NHS - Why Quit Smoking
2 - Bupa - Watch What Happens When You Stop Smoking
3 - NHS Better Health - Quit Smoking
4 - Cancer Research - Tobacco kills one person every five minutes
5 - MMU - Smokers More Likely To Suffer Hearing Loss
6 - RNIB - Smoking and Sight Loss
7 - Alzheimer’s Society - Smoking and The Risk Of Dementia
8 - ASH - Smoking and Mental Health
9 - NHS - The Truth About Smoking
10 - ASH - How Smoking Affects the Way You Look
11 - The Effects of Smoking - A Systematic Review - PMC
