Benefits of quitting

It doesn’t take too long for your body to start to heal after you quit smoking.

20 minutes after you quit your blood pressure lowers and your heart rate slows
In a day almost all of the nicotine is out of your bloodstream, and oxygen can get to your heart and muscles more easily
After a week you start to smell and taste things better
Within two months you stop coughing so much, and your blood gets less sticky so it gets back to your hands and feet like it used to
After six months your lungs are working better and you should be feeling less stressed about needing a cigarette
Within two to five years you are much less at risk of having a heart attack or stroke
After 10 years your risk of cancers of the lung, mouth, throat, bladder, kidney, oesophagus, bladder and pancreas decreases significantly
Fifteen years on, your risk of heart attack and stroke is close to that of a person who has never smoked.