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PrintSmoking and How To Quit
What happens to your body when you quit smoking?
This tool shows how your body begins to heal as soon as you quit smoking.
Feel great about quitting smoking!
If you quit smoking right now, at 09:10 AM (EST) on September 21, 2012, here is what will begin to happen immediately:
- 9:30 AM (in 20 minutes): Your heart rate drops.
- 9:10 PM (in 12 hours): The carbon monoxide (a gas that can be toxic) in your blood drops to normal.
- Oct. 5, 2012 - Dec. 21, 2012 (in 2 weeks to 3 months): Your heart attack risk begins to drop and your lungs are working better.
- Oct. 21, 2012 - Jun. 21, 2013 (in 1 to 9 months): Your coughing and shortness of breath decrease and your lungs start to function better, lowering your risk of lung infection.
- Sep. 21, 2013 (in 1 year): Your risk for heart disease is half that of a smoker's.
- Sep. 21, 2017 (in five years): Your risk of having a stroke is the same as someone who doesn't smoke.
- Sep. 21, 2022 (in 10 years): Your risk of dying from lung cancer is half that of a smoker's. Your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas also decreases.
- Sep. 21, 2027 (in 15 years): Your risk of heart disease is now the same as someone who doesn't smoke.
Content last updated May 19, 2010.
Resources last updated May 19, 2010.
A federal government website managed by the Office on Women's Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.200 Independence Avenue, S.W. • Washington, DC 20201
202-690-7650 • Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST (closed on federal holidays).
womenshealth.gov
A federal government website managed by the Office on Women's Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
200 Independence Avenue, S.W. • Washington, DC 20201