Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAfter You Quit: TimelineCopingHow Long Does It Take?Resources
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
After You Quit: Timeline
Coping
How Long Does It Take?
Resources
Quitting smoking, albeit challenging, is one of the most impactful health choices you can make. The physical and mental benefits are numerous. Stopping tobacco helps prevent cardiac andrespiratory diseases, lowers cancer risk, and boosts your overall health. Studies show links between smoking andanxietyand depression.When you stop smoking, your body starts to recover, and the health benefits are immediate.
But what makes quitting challenging is theaddiction to nicotinein tobacco products. Withdrawal from this substance can cause cravings, irritability, anger, sadness, increased hunger, and insomnia.If you’re thinking about quitting or have a quit plan, knowing what to expect is helpful.
This article details the stages of quitting, coping strategies, and the resources available to help you stop.
Rizky Panuntun / Getty Images
What Happens After You Quit Smoking? A Timeline
After you quit, your body begins to repair itself almost immediately, though recovery takes years.You will likely contend withwithdrawal symptomsas nicotine clears out from your bloodstream and beyond. While individual experiences vary depending on how much and how long you have been smoking, here’s a timeline of what you can expect after smoking cessation.
Hours Later
You won’t wait long to experience the physical health benefits of quitting tobacco. Within 20 minutes, your heart rate returns to normal.
As your nicotine levels drop, you’ll also start to feel cravings for cigarettes or nicotine within a couple of hours of stopping.
The Next Day
Within 12 to 24 hours after quitting, your bloodstream becomes nicotine-free, and the risk ofheart attackbegins to decline.You may feel irritable, restless, hopeless, or sad, and you may also have food cravings.
72 Hours
Within a couple of days, the carbon monoxide levels in your blood return to normal.Withdrawal symptoms continue and may become more severe; they tend to peak in intensity within the first three days.
You may feel irritated, agitated, angry, depressed, sad, or have trouble sleeping. Some people may also notice an increased appetite.
Two Weeks to 12 Months
For most people, cravings and other withdrawal symptoms are most severe during the first week after quitting, and they can last for a month or more.
One to Two Years
As you enter the second year after quitting, your risk of coronary heart disease drops to half that of people who smoke. This significantly reduces the chance of heart attack.
Five to 15 Years
Five to 10 years after stopping, your risk of mouth, throat, or voice box (diaphragm) cancer is half that of those who smoke or use tobacco. Your chance of having astrokealso starts to decline.
20 Years
After 20 years of not smoking, your risk of cancer in the mouth, nose, pancreas, and larynx becomes nearly the same as in someone who doesn’t smoke.By this point, your lungs have functionally recovered from the damage.
What Happens If You Replace Smoking With Vaping?Vaping nicotine—inhaling a heated, liquid form of the drug—has exploded in popularity over the last two decades. Evidence suggests smoking is more harmful to your lungs, thoughvapingcan lead to inflammation or lung damage. It’s still very addictive. More research is needed about the long-term effects of vaping. The evidence to support vaping as a smoking cessation tool is controversial.
What Happens If You Replace Smoking With Vaping?
Vaping nicotine—inhaling a heated, liquid form of the drug—has exploded in popularity over the last two decades. Evidence suggests smoking is more harmful to your lungs, thoughvapingcan lead to inflammation or lung damage. It’s still very addictive. More research is needed about the long-term effects of vaping. The evidence to support vaping as a smoking cessation tool is controversial.
Lung Detox: How to Cleanse Your Lungs
Coping Through Triggers
The physical and psychological symptoms of quitting smoking make it a challenging feat. If you’ve quit before, you know that certain drinks, foods, situations, and emotions can give you a sudden urge to smoke, even if it’s been months or years. These triggers vary from person to person but typically fall into three categories, as follows:
Avoid, Change, EscapeRemember the acronym “ACE” to manage triggers, meaning:Avoidpeople, places, and events that you know will trigger a craving.Changetriggering situations. This is easier said than done, but even minor changes can decrease your desire to smoke or distract you from the craving.Escapefrom tempting situations. Have a plan to excuse yourself from places or conversations that tempt you to smoke.
Avoid, Change, Escape
Remember the acronym “ACE” to manage triggers, meaning:Avoidpeople, places, and events that you know will trigger a craving.Changetriggering situations. This is easier said than done, but even minor changes can decrease your desire to smoke or distract you from the craving.Escapefrom tempting situations. Have a plan to excuse yourself from places or conversations that tempt you to smoke.
Remember the acronym “ACE” to manage triggers, meaning:
If you feel a craving and can’t do any of the above, you may wish to consider nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). It can provide you with a small amount of nicotine to help reduce cravings in the short term. NRT is available in various forms, including:
Additional strategies for coping with cravings include:
Emotional Support When You Feel Bad
While quitting smoking is good for your physical and mental health, you may experience irritability, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness.
To cope when you’re feeling bad, seek out emotional support. Here’s what you can do:
How Long Does It Take to Quit Smoking?
It takes time for your body and mind to adjust to life without tobacco. Depending on the case, it takes about one to three months for the cravings and other symptoms of withdrawal to resolve.The timing can vary depending on how much and how long you smoked.
Since there’s a psychological component to addiction, you may still have occasional urges to smoke after the physical symptoms have subsided. This can be an added challenge, so coping with your triggers and doing what you can to stay on course is essential.
Don’t Lose HeartRemember that it’s perfectly normal to relapse once you quit. Medical literature reveals that it takes, on average, eight to 30 attempts for someone to stop successfully.You shouldn’t feel bad or give up if you slip. Though quitting is difficult, there are many resources available to help.
Don’t Lose Heart
Remember that it’s perfectly normal to relapse once you quit. Medical literature reveals that it takes, on average, eight to 30 attempts for someone to stop successfully.You shouldn’t feel bad or give up if you slip. Though quitting is difficult, there are many resources available to help.
Resources: Apps, Numbers, and More
As you undergo your quitting journey, know that you aren’t alone. There are many easily accessible resources and organizations that can help. You can get help from:
Summary
Quitting smoking boosts your health almost immediately, improving your heart and lung function and preventing cancer, respiratory diseases, cardiac conditions, and more. It takes one to three months for nicotine withdrawal symptoms to stop, and total physical recovery from smoking damage takes up to 20 years. Avoiding triggers and making lifestyle changes can help, with smoking cessation programs, therapy, and support groups among ways to find social support.
9 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Taylor GM, Lindson N, Farley A, et al.Smoking cessation for improving mental health.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021;3(3):CD013522. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013522.pub2National Cancer Institute.Handling nicotine withdrawal and triggers when you decide to quit tobacco.American Lung Association.Benefits of quitting.Al-Hamdani M, Manly E.Smoking cessation or initiation: the paradox of vaping.Prev Med Rep. 2021;22:101363. doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101363Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Benefits of quitting smoking.UpToDate.ACE: Avoid, change, escape. Strategies for coping with smoking triggers.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How quit smoking medicines work.SmokeFree.gov.How to manage cravings.Chaiton M, Diemert L, Cohen JE, et al.Estimating the number of quit attempts it takes to quit smoking successfully in a longitudinal cohort of smokers.BMJ Open. 2016;6(6):e011045. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011045
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Taylor GM, Lindson N, Farley A, et al.Smoking cessation for improving mental health.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021;3(3):CD013522. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013522.pub2National Cancer Institute.Handling nicotine withdrawal and triggers when you decide to quit tobacco.American Lung Association.Benefits of quitting.Al-Hamdani M, Manly E.Smoking cessation or initiation: the paradox of vaping.Prev Med Rep. 2021;22:101363. doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101363Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Benefits of quitting smoking.UpToDate.ACE: Avoid, change, escape. Strategies for coping with smoking triggers.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How quit smoking medicines work.SmokeFree.gov.How to manage cravings.Chaiton M, Diemert L, Cohen JE, et al.Estimating the number of quit attempts it takes to quit smoking successfully in a longitudinal cohort of smokers.BMJ Open. 2016;6(6):e011045. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011045
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Taylor GM, Lindson N, Farley A, et al.Smoking cessation for improving mental health.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021;3(3):CD013522. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013522.pub2National Cancer Institute.Handling nicotine withdrawal and triggers when you decide to quit tobacco.American Lung Association.Benefits of quitting.Al-Hamdani M, Manly E.Smoking cessation or initiation: the paradox of vaping.Prev Med Rep. 2021;22:101363. doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101363Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Benefits of quitting smoking.UpToDate.ACE: Avoid, change, escape. Strategies for coping with smoking triggers.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How quit smoking medicines work.SmokeFree.gov.How to manage cravings.Chaiton M, Diemert L, Cohen JE, et al.Estimating the number of quit attempts it takes to quit smoking successfully in a longitudinal cohort of smokers.BMJ Open. 2016;6(6):e011045. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011045
Taylor GM, Lindson N, Farley A, et al.Smoking cessation for improving mental health.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021;3(3):CD013522. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013522.pub2
National Cancer Institute.Handling nicotine withdrawal and triggers when you decide to quit tobacco.
American Lung Association.Benefits of quitting.
Al-Hamdani M, Manly E.Smoking cessation or initiation: the paradox of vaping.Prev Med Rep. 2021;22:101363. doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101363
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Benefits of quitting smoking.
UpToDate.ACE: Avoid, change, escape. Strategies for coping with smoking triggers.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How quit smoking medicines work.
SmokeFree.gov.How to manage cravings.
Chaiton M, Diemert L, Cohen JE, et al.Estimating the number of quit attempts it takes to quit smoking successfully in a longitudinal cohort of smokers.BMJ Open. 2016;6(6):e011045. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011045
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