Benefits of Quitting Smoking: What Happens to Your Body?

Created: 09.02.2024 · Last Updated: 19.08.2026 · Category: Chest Diseases · Prepared by the Academic Hospital Web and Editorial Board.

Quitting smoking is one of the most important steps a person can take to improve their health. Benefits begin shortly after the last cigarette and continue to accumulate for years.

Tobacco use causes millions of preventable deaths worldwide and is directly associated with cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and many other health conditions.

Cigars, pipes, waterpipes and other tobacco products are not safe alternatives to cigarettes. Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke also carries important health risks.

What Are the Health Risks of Smoking?

Tobacco smoke contains thousands of chemicals, including substances known to cause cancer.

Cigarette smoking causes or increases the risk of cancers including those of the lung, oral cavity, throat, larynx, oesophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, stomach, liver, colon and rectum and cervix, as well as acute myeloid leukaemia.

Smoking also causes or contributes to coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, diabetes and reproductive health problems.

There is no safe level of cigarette smoking. Smoking only a small number of cigarettes or smoking socially does not eliminate the health risks.

What Are the Benefits of Quitting Smoking?

Quitting provides health benefits at any age, including for people who have smoked for many years.

  • Cardiovascular disease risk decreases.
  • The risk of heart attack and stroke falls over time.
  • The risk of lung cancer and several other cancers decreases.
  • Cough and shortness of breath may improve.
  • The risk of developing and progressing COPD decreases.
  • Circulation improves.
  • Taste and smell may improve.
  • Physical capacity may improve.
  • Other people are no longer exposed to your secondhand smoke.

What Happens to Your Body After You Quit Smoking?

Within Minutes

Heart rate begins to decrease.

Within 24 Hours

The nicotine level in the blood falls to zero.

Within Several Days

Carbon monoxide in the blood falls to the level of someone who does not smoke.

1–12 Months

Coughing and shortness of breath decrease.

1–2 Years

The risk of heart attack drops sharply.

3–6 Years

The added risk of coronary heart disease falls by approximately half.

5–10 Years

The added risk of cancers of the mouth, throat and voice box falls by approximately half, and stroke risk decreases.

10–15 Years

The added risk of lung cancer falls by approximately half.

Around 15 Years

Coronary heart disease risk approaches that of someone who does not smoke.

What Is Nicotine Withdrawal?

Nicotine is highly addictive. When tobacco use stops, temporary withdrawal symptoms can occur as the body adapts to the absence of nicotine.

These can include cravings, irritability, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, changes in sleep, increased appetite and mood changes.

Withdrawal symptoms do not mean that a quit attempt is failing. Evidence-based behavioural and pharmacological support can make these symptoms easier to manage.

How Can You Quit Smoking?

Tobacco dependence is not simply a habit. Nicotine dependence is a treatable health condition.

  1. Identify your reasons for quitting. Health, family, finances and quality of life can all provide motivation.
  2. Set a quit date. Remove cigarettes and smoking-related items from your environment.
  3. Identify your triggers. Plan alternatives for situations associated with smoking.
  4. Build support. Ask family, friends and healthcare professionals for help.
  5. Consider evidence-based treatment. Behavioural support combined with appropriate medication can improve the likelihood of successful quitting.

Which Treatments Can Help People Quit Smoking?

The World Health Organization recommends behavioural support and appropriate pharmacological treatments for adults who want to quit tobacco.

Evidence-based options include:

  • Brief advice from healthcare professionals
  • Individual counselling
  • Group counselling
  • Telephone counselling
  • Nicotine replacement therapy
  • Varenicline
  • Bupropion
  • Cytisine where appropriate and available
  • Supportive digital cessation interventions
Combining behavioural support with medication can improve quit success. Treatment should be individualised according to medical history, current medication and nicotine dependence.

What Is Nicotine Replacement Therapy?

Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) provides controlled nicotine without exposure to the harmful products of tobacco combustion and is designed to reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings.

Forms can include nicotine patches, gum and lozenges. In some patients, a long-acting patch may be combined with a shorter-acting form such as gum or a lozenge.

Do Acupuncture and Bioresonance Help People Quit Smoking?

Acupuncture, bioresonance and other complementary approaches are sometimes marketed for smoking cessation. However, there is insufficient evidence to support these methods at the same level as established behavioural and pharmacological treatments.

The current WHO tobacco cessation guideline makes no recommendation for traditional, complementary or alternative therapies because of insufficient evidence.

Such approaches should not replace evidence-based smoking cessation treatment.

Are E-Cigarettes a Smoking Cessation Treatment?

E-cigarettes can deliver nicotine and maintain nicotine dependence, and their aerosols are not harmless.

People seeking to quit smoking should discuss evidence-based cessation options with a healthcare professional. The objective should be to stop combustible tobacco use and, where possible, overcome nicotine dependence rather than simply replacing one source of nicotine with another.

Why Is Secondhand Smoke Harmful?

Secondhand tobacco smoke contains carcinogens, and there is no safe level of exposure.

Exposure increases the risk of lung cancer and cardiovascular disease in people who do not smoke. In children, secondhand smoke is associated with respiratory illness, worsening asthma and middle-ear disease.

Quitting Smoking Is Possible

Nicotine dependence is treatable. A previous unsuccessful quit attempt does not mean that a future attempt will fail. Behavioural and medical support can be tailored to the individual.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do the benefits of quitting smoking begin?
Positive changes begin within minutes of the last cigarette. Heart rate starts to decrease, followed by progressive reductions in cardiovascular, respiratory and cancer risks over the following days, months and years.
Is quitting still beneficial after many years of smoking?
Yes. Quitting smoking provides health benefits at any age, including for people who have smoked for many years. Compared with continuing to smoke, quitting reduces the risk of many diseases and premature death.
Do the lungs completely recover after quitting?
Respiratory health can improve significantly after quitting, but established COPD, emphysema or other permanent lung damage may not completely reverse. Quitting is still important because it can reduce further damage and additional health risks.
Can medication help with quitting smoking?
Yes. Evidence-based options for appropriate adults include nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline and bupropion. Treatment selection should take account of medical history and other medications.
Is nicotine replacement therapy safer than smoking?
Nicotine replacement therapy provides controlled nicotine without exposure to tobacco combustion products and is an evidence-based smoking cessation treatment designed to reduce withdrawal and cravings.
Is bioresonance effective for quitting smoking?
There is insufficient evidence to support bioresonance at the same level as established smoking cessation treatments. The current WHO guideline makes no recommendation for complementary and alternative therapies because of insufficient evidence.
Does switching to an e-cigarette mean that I have quit smoking?
E-cigarettes can contain nicotine and may maintain nicotine dependence. Evidence-based cessation treatments with better-established clinical guidance should be discussed with a healthcare professional.
Academic Hospital note: Tobacco dependence and health status differ between individuals. A smoking cessation plan should therefore be personalised. Behavioural support and appropriate medication can improve the likelihood of successful quitting. You can book an appointment.

References

  1. Academic Hospital. Smoking Cessation: An Important Decision for Your Health
  2. World Health Organization. WHO Clinical Treatment Guideline for Tobacco Cessation in Adults
  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Benefits of Quitting Smoking
  4. National Cancer Institute. Tobacco and Cancer Risk