Facts About Quitting Smoking

The information contained in this section was sourced from the The Cancer Council Victoria "Quit Victoria"
website: www.quit.org.au (see links)

When a person quits smoking, the benefits can be seen almost immediately and increase in quality and quantity over time.

12 hours after quitting:

• Nearly all the nicotine is out of your body

24 hours after quitting:

• Carbon monoxide levels in the blood decrease to normal range
• Oxygen levels in the blood increase to normal range

5 days after quitting:

• Most nicotine by-products have left your body

Within days after quitting:

• Smell and taste starts to return to normal

One month after quitting:

• Blood pressure returns to normal
• Immune system starts to recover

2 months after quitting:

• Decreased (smoker's) cough, sinus congestion, tiredness, shortness of breath

1 year after quitting:

• Risk of coronary heart disease is decreased by half, compared to that of a smoker's

10 years after quitting:

• Lung cancer risk is decreased to half that of a smoker's

15 years after quitting:

• Risk of coronary heart disease, such as heart attack and stroke, is now almost the same as people who have never been smokers