How Your Body Heals After You Quit Smoking

How Your Body Heals After You Quit Smoking Addiction Nicotine Use After You Quit Print How Your Body Heals After You Quit Smoking By Terry Martin facebook twitter Terry Martin quit smoking after 26 years and is now an advocate for those seeking freedom from nicotine addiction. Learn about our editorial policy Terry Martin Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Armeen Poor, MD on January 29, 2020 Armeen Poor, MD, is a board-certified pulmonologist and intensivist. He specializes in pulmonary health, critical care, and sleep medicine. Learn about our Medical Review Board Armeen Poor, MD on January 29, 2020 Verywell / JR Bee More in Addiction Nicotine Use After You Quit How to Quit Smoking Nicotine Withdrawal Smoking-Related Diseases The Inside of Cigarettes Alcohol Use Addictive Behaviors Drug Use Coping and Recovery In This Article Table of Contents Expand Within 24 Hours of Quitting Within 72 Hours of Quitting Within Two Weeks of Quitting Within Three Months of Quitting Within Nine Months of Quitting By the End of Year One View All Back To Top As of Dec. 20, 2019, the new legal age limit is 21 years old for purchasing cigarettes, cigars, or any other tobacco products in the U.S. There is a general perception among smokers that any harm caused to the lungs is irreversible, and thats not entirely true. While you cant necessarily undo the  structural damage, the function of the lungs can improve significantly once cigarettes have been removed from the equation. According to research published in 2009 in the journal Respiratory Medicine, people with mild to moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can expect to experience normalization of lung function decline within a year of quitting.?? What this means is that the rate of decline considered normal with age was no different from someone who had never smoked before. Even in people with severe COPD, the rate of decline (as measured by the forced expiratory volume in one second, or FEV1) was cut by half after one year of sustained abstinence from smoking.?? With that being said, you dont have to wait a year to start experiencing the benefits of smoking cessation. In fact, the changes will start to occur within minutes, hours, and days of quitting. Within 24 Hours of Quitting If you are a heavy smoker, your body will immediately realize when the chain-smoking cycle is broken. This is because tobacco smoke causes the reactive constriction of blood vessels in the body. When the smoke is removed, the constriction will start to cease, resulting in lower blood pressure, pulse rate, and your body temperature will start to return to normal.?? After eight hours of living smoke-free, the carbon monoxide levels in your blood will also drop, while the blood oxygen levels will start to normalize (meaning that more oxygen is reaching your cells and tissues).?? Within 72 Hours of Quitting Nicotine withdrawal symptoms are typically at their worst during the first 72 hours of quitting, and gradually subside from there.?? Within 48 hours, your taste and smell receptors will start to heal, shifting from their abnormally flattened state to a more normal, rounded configuration. Damaged nerve cells will also self-repair as the insulating membrane, called myelin, gradually rebuilds itself around exposed nerve endings.?? One day after quitting, your risk of heart attack starts to go down. Within Two Weeks of Quitting After the first 72 hours, your peak withdrawal symptoms will start to decrease,?? although the cigarette cravings can still persist. In the days and weeks that follow, you should start breathing easier, your circulation will improve, and your cravings should ease.?? Within Three Months of Quitting Over the course of the first few months, you will experience many of the more obvious improvements in lung function. By week six, many COPD patients will have nearly doubled their FEV1. While these improvements may not be as dramatic moving forward, they tend to continue gradually in people with mild to moderate COPD and remain relatively stable for people with severe COPD.?? By the end of week six, the withdrawal symptoms (including anger, anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, and restlessness) will have largely disappeared. Within Nine Months of Quitting The three-month mark can a tricky time for ex-smokers. People will often say that they feel a sudden letdown as the physical improvements taper off while the cigarette cravings persist (albeit at a lesser rate). This doesnt mean that your health isnt continuing to improve. In fact, the tiny, finger-like projections in your respiratory tract, called cilia, will have regrown during the first six to nine month, making it easier to clear debris and mucus from your lungs. While this may actually increase  coughing, it is more a sign that your lungs are getting stronger and trying to heal themselves.?? As a result, you should start feeling more energized and be able to perform daily activities with less shortness of breath and fatigue. By the End of Year One By the end of Year One, the rate of decline of lung function will have reached near-normal levels in people with mild to moderate COPD. By contrast, individuals with severe COPD will often experience a leveling off of their earlier gains or even a slight reversal, according to research from the National Heart and Lung Institute in London published in 2014.?? This doesnt mean that youre going backward but rather that you need ongoing COPD treatment to further slow the progression of the disease. Weight gain is another a common concern among ex-smokers, with studies published in 2009 suggesting an average gain of 8.4 percent in women and 6.8 percent in men by the end of the first year. Unless efforts are made to curb eating and increase exercise, additional weight gain can be expected by the end of 24 months, most notably in women. Despite these potential setbacks, the benefits of smoking cessation remain inarguable. About 15 years of being smoke-free, your risk of stroke, lung cancer and heart disease will be about the same as people who never smoked.