Benefits of Quitting Smoking




It is amazing and unbelievable how the human body responds to the decision of quitting smoking. Nicotine has been poisoning it for weeks, months or even years and after the person decides to turn away from cigarettes, his/her body starts its own healing.

While people do not understand what kind of damage they are doing with harmful things such as alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and other chemicals; inner organs work together to survive and avoid the destruction caused by them. The human brain, via the nervous system, gives wise commands for defense, so when nicotine comes into blood and lungs, the smoker starts breathing faster and his heart rate increases.

In 20 minutes after smoking a cigarette, these processes come back to normal: the lungs feel relief and start working regularly, blood pressure levels out, and the body temperature of hands and feet stabilizes.

Smoke from cigarettes pushes carbon monoxide into the bloodstream, forcing out the oxygen. The U.S. Surgeon General’s report from 1988 states that 12 hours after one quits smoking the amount of oxygen in blood comes back to normal, completely replacing carbon monoxide.

Twenty-four hours after the last cigarette, the risk of heart attack decreases and when forty-eight hours have passed the nerves start restoring their endings, restoring the senses of taste and smell to their previously condition and heightened ability.

This is usually the time when a person is drawn to cigarettes the most. The addiction is calling for the smoker, making him feel hungry, lethargic, edgy and short-tempered. Sometimes problems with sleeping occur and coughing may also increase. Long-time smokers can also get headaches, have temporary weight gain, as well as dry and sore gums and/or tongue.

All of these symptoms are the signs of the restoration that the body makes when getting rid of nicotine. Within 2-3 days the poison will be completely gone and the symptoms disappear. In the meantime, the person can fight them with the following tricks:

• Hunger: drink a lot of water and consume low-calorie food or snacks.
• Dry mouth: sip ice-cold water or have a piece of gum.
• Headaches: take a warm shower, listen to relaxing music, or meditate.
• Insomnia: avoid coffee, tea and other drinks containing caffeine, and try relaxation techniques.
• Coughing: have some cough drops and/or drink warm herbal tea.
• Fatigue: do not push yourself. Slow down, and if it is possible, take a nap.
• Weight gain: it is temporary, so it is not necessary to do anything specific, though if a person is determined to do something, start a low-calorie diet.

Between 2 weeks and 3 months after quitting, coughing becomes softer and less often than it used to be. It is also easier to walk, because the oxygen replaces carbon monoxide completely and all circulation processes in the body improve. Production of phlegm also decreases in this period.

If the smoker has not touched cigarettes for between one and nine months, his or her lungs start functioning better: cilia, small hair-like projections that are responsible for moving mucus out of the lungs, start working well, cleaning up all the trash from the smoker’s lungs.

In one year after quitting smoking the person’s risk to have coronary heart disease or heart attack becomes half as much as those who continue to smoke, and after 15 years it becomes the same as of people who have never touched a cigarette. Interestingly, after five years, the risk of stroke also levels out with the non-smoker’s.

The risk of lung cancer decreases significantly over a decade, but unfortunately, the risk never completely goes away. However, the body resists other types of cancer better (bladder, kidney, mouth, pancreas, etc.). Although it takes a while to restore body processes completely, the rewards are great and worth the effort!

Andrew Johnson

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Buy stop smoking medication online for smoking cessation treatment.

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Posted on February 19, 2009 
Filed Under Facts on Smoking, How to Quit Smoking, Smoking and Health, Stop Smoking, Stop Smoking News

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