Benefits of Being Smoke-Free
Being smoke-free will improve your life in ways you’ll see and feel. It’s not just about your health. The health benefits of quitting occur for all types of smokers, men and women, young and old. Your body starts to heal within 24 hours of quitting.
After your last cigarette…
20 minutes – blood pressure decreases
24 hours – carbon monoxide is eliminated from your body, lungs start to clear of mucus
48 hours – nicotine is gone from your body, your taste and smell improve
72 hours – breathing is easier, energy levels increase
2-12 weeks – circulation improves making activity easier
3-9 months – lung function improves by 10%
5 years – your risk of heart attack has declined to half of risk when you were a smoker
Quitting will give you a real and powerful sense of self-control.
- You will feel, perform and look better.
- You’ll have more energy.
- You won’t smell like a smoker.
- You won’t have to leave your house or workplace just to smoke.
- Your sense of taste and smell will improve.
- You’ll be a better role model for children.
- You won’t expose others to second-hand smoke.
- You’ll save money.
Something to think about…
- almost four in five Canadians over the age of 15 are non-smokers; less than 20% of Canadians are smokers
- smoking is no longer socially acceptable for the majority of Canadians
- most former smokers wish they had quit much earlier — or never started at all — and some say that quitting wasn’t as hard as they had thought it would be.
- a pack-a-day smoker can spend more than $2,500 a year on cigarettes