No matter how old you are or how long you’ve smoked, quitting can help you live longer
and be healthier. People who stop smoking before age 50 cut their risk of dying in the
next 15 years in half compared with those who keep smoking. Ex-smokers enjoy a higher
quality of life – they have fewer illnesses like colds and the flu, lower rates of bronchitis
and pneumonia, and feel healthier than people who still smoke.
For decades the Surgeon General has reported the health risks linked to smoking. In
1990, the Surgeon General concluded:
• Quitting smoking has major and immediate health benefits for men and women of all
ages. These benefits apply to people who already have smoking-related diseases and
those who don’t.
• Ex-smokers live longer than people who keep smoking.
• Quitting smoking lowers the risk of lung cancer, other cancers, heart attack, stroke,
and chronic lung disease.
• Women who stop smoking before pregnancy or during the first 3 to 4 months of
pregnancy reduce their risk of having a low birth-weight baby to that of women who
never smoked.
• The health benefits of quitting smoking are far greater than any risks from the small
weight gain (usually less than 10 pounds) or any emotional or psychological problems
that may follow quitting.
When smokers quit – what are the benefits over time?
20 minutes after quitting
Your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
(Effect of smoking on arterial stiffness and pulse pressure amplification, Mahmud
A, Feely J. Hypertension. 2003:41:183)
12 hours after quitting
The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1988, p. 202)
2 weeks to 3 months after quitting
Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, pp.193, 194,196, 285, 323)
1 to 9 months after quitting
Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move
mucus out of the lungs) start to regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability
to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, pp. 285-287, 304)
1 year after quitting
The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a continuing smoker’s.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 2010, p. 359)
5 years after quitting
Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder are cut in half. Cervical
cancer risk falls to that of a non-smoker. Stroke risk can fall to that of a non-smoker after
2-5 years.
(A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease - The
Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease Fact Sheet, 2010;
and Tobacco Control: Reversal of Risk After Quitting Smoking. IARC Handbooks
of Cancer Prevention, Vol. 11. 2007, p 341)
10 years after quitting
The risk of dying from lung cancer is about half that of a person who is still smoking.
The risk of cancer of the larynx (voice box) and pancreas decreases.
(A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease - The
Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease Fact Sheet, 2010;
and US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, pp. vi, 155, 165)
15 years after quitting
The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker’s.
(Tobacco Control: Reversal of Risk After Quitting Smoking. IARC Handbooks of
Cancer Prevention, Vol. 11. 2007. p 11)
These are just a few of the benefits of quitting smoking for good. Quitting smoking
lowers the risk of diabetes, lets blood vessels work better, and helps the heart and lungs.
Quitting while you are younger will reduce your health risks more, but quitting at any age
can give back years of life that would be lost by continuing to smoke.
What are the immediate rewards of quitting smoking?
Kicking the tobacco habit offers some benefits that you’ll notice right away and some
that will develop over time. These rewards improve most peoples’ day-to-day lives a
great deal:
• Breath smells better
• Stained teeth get whiter
• Bad smell in clothes and hair go away
• Yellow fingers and fingernails disappear
• Food tastes better
• Sense of smell returns to normal
• Everyday activities (such as climbing stairs or light housework) no longer leave them
out of breath
• They can be in smoke-free buildings without having to go outside to smoke.
Cost
The prospect of better health is a major reason for quitting, but there are other reasons,
too.
Smoking is expensive. It isn’t hard to figure out how much you spend on smoking:
multiply how much money you spend on tobacco every day by 365 (days per year). The
amount may surprise you. Now multiply that by the number of years you have been using
tobacco and that amount will probably shock you.
Multiply the cost per year by 10 (for the next 10 years) and ask yourself what you would
rather do with that much money.
And this doesn’t include other possible costs, such as higher costs for health and life
insurance, and likely health care costs due to tobacco-related problems.
Social acceptance
Smoking is less socially acceptable now than ever. This can cost you in terms of friends,
money, and convenience.
Today, almost all workplaces have some type of smoking rules. Some employers even
prefer to hire non-smokers. Studies show smoking employees cost businesses more. In
fact, one 2013 study found that for each employee who successfully quits tobacco, an
employer can expect to see an annual savings of about $5,800. Employees who smoke
tend to be out sick more. Employees who are ill more often than others can raise an
employer’s need for costly short-term replacement workers. They can increase insurance
costs for other employees and for the employer, who often pays part of the workers’
insurance premiums. Regular smoking breaks mean time away from work. Smokers in a
building also can increase the maintenance costs of keeping odors down, since residue
from cigarette smoke gets into to carpets, drapes, and other fabrics.
Smoking is banned in most public elementary and secondary school buildings and, in
many states, it’s banned on school campuses. It’s common for colleges and universities to
have no-smoking policies for all campus buildings, including residential housing. And
many are moving toward smoke-free campuses, even in outdoor areas.
Landlords may choose not to rent to smokers since maintenance costs and insurance rates
may go up when smokers live in buildings. Resale values are lower on buildings, homes,
and cars that smell like old smoke.
Friends may ask you not to smoke in their homes or cars. Public buildings, concerts, and
even sporting events are largely smoke-free. And more and more communities are
restricting smoking in all public places, including restaurants and bars. Like it or not,
finding a place to smoke can be a hassle.
Smokers may also find their prospects for dating or romantic involvement, including
marriage, are largely limited to other smokers. Cigarette smokers now make up about
18% of the adult population.
Health of others
Smoking not only harms your health but it hurts the health of those around you. Exposure
to secondhand smoke (also called environmental tobacco smoke or passive smoking)
includes exhaled smoke as well as smoke from burning cigarettes.
Studies have shown that secondhand smoke causes thousands of deaths each year from
lung cancer in healthy non-smokers. Over the past 50 years, this amounts to more than
2.5 million deaths from secondhand smoke.
If a mother smokes, there is a higher risk of her baby developing asthma in childhood,
especially if she smoked while she was pregnant. Women who smoke during pregnancy
are more likely to have babies with cleft lip, cleft palate, and low birth weight.
Babies and children raised in a household where there is smoking have more ear
infections, colds, bronchitis, and problems with breathing than children in non-smoking
families. Secondhand smoke is linked to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and slow
lung growth in children. Secondhand smoke can also cause eye irritation, headaches,
nausea, and dizziness.
To learn more, please see our document called Secondhand Smoke.
Setting an example
If you have children, you probably want to set a good example for them. When asked,
nearly all smokers say they don’t want their children to smoke. But children whose
parents smoke are more likely to start smoking themselves. You can become a better role
model for them by quitting now.
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