What happens to the body when you stop smoking?

How does quitting smoking affect the body? How long does it take for nicotine to be eliminated from the body?

Let’s find out together with doctors.

If you are wondering whether you should quit smoking, keep this in mind. The human body in most cases heals itself – and it happens faster than many people think. As soon as 20 minutes after the last cigarette, your heart rate drops and returns to normal. What to speak of a more prolonged withdrawal from a bad habit. It will require a considerable amount of time, but the result is worth it.

general practitioner

Already two days after quitting smoking, the nerves begin to recover, carbon monoxide leaves the body, and the lungs are cleared of mucus.

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Why is it so hard to stop smoking?

Quitting smoking is a hard process both physically and psychologically. Why? It’s not so complicated: nicotine is an incomplete analog of neurotransmitters. These are substances, thanks to which the transmission of nerve impulses between the cells of various muscles, including the heart. When a person smokes, the production of natural neurotransmitters decreases. And after quitting a bad habit is not immediately restored. Until then, a person experiences severe stress, difficulties with concentration, irritability, anxiety.

Also among the consequences – sleep disturbance, decreased stress resistance, weight gain. Much less often there are such symptoms: cough, sore throat, chest congestion, dizziness and headaches, a feeling of nausea, a general feeling of malaise and weakness. It usually takes a month for the body to wean itself off nicotine. But the psychological struggle lasts much longer.

What happens to the body after quitting cigarettes?

The process of quitting smoking for everyone is different, but most often with the body happens approximately the following.

In 1-3 days.
On the first day after quitting cigarettes, the risk of heart attack begins to decrease. In general, smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease because it lowers good cholesterol – it’s harder to exercise in this case.

Medical Director of Lifetime+ Digital Labs

Products of combustion cause chronic inflammation and sputum secretion, carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin and deprives it of its ability to carry oxygen. Therefore, in the first three days, the mucosa “heals” as if from a burn.

George: Smoking damages the nerve endings responsible for smell and taste. But two days after quitting smoking, the nerves begin to recover, carbon monoxide leaves the body, and the lungs are cleared of mucus. A person may notice a heightened sense of smell and more vivid taste sensations. Three days after quitting smoking, nicotine levels in the body decrease. During this period, most people experience bad moods and irritability, severe headaches, and cravings for smoking as the body rebuilds itself.

After 1-9 months.
After as little as a month without cigarettes, the lungs begin to work better. As they heal and increase in volume, coughing and shortness of breath decrease and athletic endurance increases. At this stage, ex-smokers notice that they can once again handle cardio exercises such as running and jumping. Over the next few months, circulation continues to improve.

Georgi: After nine months, the lungs are getting stronger. The thin, hair-like structures inside them called cilia regenerate. They help push mucus out of the lungs and fight infections. Around this time, many ex-smokers notice that they get sick less often, precisely because the healed cilia are doing their job better. After a year without cigarettes, the risk of coronary heart disease is cut in half.

After 5-20 years.
Cigarettes contain many toxins that cause arteries and blood vessels to narrow and increase the risk of blood clots. But after five years of abstinence from smoking, this problem disappears and the chance of stroke is reduced.

Georgy: 15 years after quitting the bad habit, the risk of coronary heart disease is practically reduced to zero. The likelihood of pancreatic cancer is similarly reduced. After 20 years, the chances of dying from smoking-related causes, including lung disease, are almost nil.

How do you quit smoking?

Kirill: My advice would be to exercise. This way you will provide yourself with an alternative source of endorphins that will help you endure the difficult stage. Ideally, choose a team sport – the commitment to other participants will help you not to abandon the lessons and survive the discomfort of nicotine deficiency. After all, its deficiency leads to the failure of all systems in the body: accelerated heart rate, high blood pressure, lethargy, digestive problems. But after a couple of weeks everything will stabilize. Be sure to monitor your health, periodically undergo a preventive examination or at least monitor the basic indicators.