Instant Gratification

After Quitting For:

20 Minutes:

* Blood pressure decreases.

* Pulse rate drops.

* Body temperature of hands and feet increases.

*

Eight Hours:

* Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal.

* Oxygen level in blood increases to normal.

24 Hours:

* Chance of heart attack decreases.

*

48 Hours:

* Nerve endings start regrowing.

* Ability to smell and taste is enhanced.

*

Two Weeks to Three Months:

* Circulation improves.

* Walking becomes easier.

* Lung function increases.

*

One to Nine Months:

* Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decrease.

*

One Year:

* Excess risk of coronary heart disease is decreased to half that of a smoker.

*

Five to 15 Years:

* Stroke risk is reduced to that of people who never smoked.

10 Years:

* Risk of lung cancer drops to as little as half that of people who continue to smoke.

* Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases.

* Risk of ulcer decreases.

*

15 Years:

* Risk of coronary heart disease is now similar to that of people who have never smoked.

* Risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked.

*

From “7 Steps to a Smoke-Free Life,” by Edwin B. Fisher Jr., PhD, with Toni L. Goldfarb (Wiley), based on the American Lung Assn.’s Freedom From Smoking program.