What Happens when You Stop Smoking

The benefit timeline

This timeline shows when the benefits of stopping smoking will come through after your final cigarette.

20 minutes, 8 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, 2-21 weeks, 1 year, 10 years, 15 years

20 minutes after giving up

Your blood pressure and your pulse rate return to normal.

--What this means

Raised blood pressure and high pulse rate both put strain on your heart, increasing your risk of a heart attack. The minute you stop your risk is reduced.

8 hours after giving up

The carbon monoxide levels in your blood are halved.

--What this means

Carbon monoxide from smoking can also produce distortions of time perception, psychomotor and visual impairment and negative effects on cognitive skill. Reducing the level of carbon monoxide in your blood will reduce these problems. Carbon monoxide reduces the uptake of oxygen from the lungs - the higher the levels of carbon monoxide, the lower the levels of oxygen.3 Oxygen is vital for the functioning of all energy systems in the body; so as soon as you cut carbon monoxide levels, you will experience enhanced energy levels.

24 hours after you Stop Smoking Carbon monoxide is eliminated from the body.

--What this means

Look forward to better sports performance, with stronger endurance, lower levels of fatigue, improved recovery after exercise and a lower heart rate for each level of exercise.

48 hours after you Stop Smoking Nicotine is eliminated from the body.

--What this means

Nicotine has a number of unpleasant side-effects on the body. It can act as an emetic (cause vomiting) and it can produce stomach upsets. It raises blood pressure, and increases the likelihood of hypothermia and seizures. Get rid of the nicotine and you will get rid of these symptoms.

2-21 weeks after you Stop Smoking Circulation improves.

--What does this mean

Bad circulation causes numerous problems, ranging from persistently cold feet, slow skin healing, Raynaud's disease and peripheral vascular disease (PVT) which can even lead to limb amputation. Giving up smoking will reduce your risk of most circulation problems.

After 1 year

Your risk of a heart attack falls to about half that of a smoker.

--What this means

Each year, tobacco smoking accounts for around 26,000 deaths from coronary heart disease in the UK - approximately 17 percent of all heart disease deaths. The UK has one of the highest heart disease deaths in the world. Luckily, giving up will quickly start to reduce your risk.

After 10 years

Your risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker


--What this means

In 1999, 22 percent of all cancer deaths were due to lung cancer, making it the most common form of cancer death. Over 80 percent of all lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking. Giving up is the most important thing you can do to reduce your risk.

After 15 years

Your risk of a heart attack is the same as someone who has never smoked.

--What this means

A better chance of a long, healthy life!

Hypnosis- This is the way

Smokers, who are getting aware of the possible health hazards and want to quit smoke at any cost, need not worry. There are several options for them. All of us know that smoking is nothing but addiction of nicotine. There are several companies manufacturing pills or nicotine replacement patches. These nicotine replacement pills are quite helpful in quitting smoking. Apart from these pills, there is one more option for quitting this addiction of nicotine. It is Hypnosis!
Most of the smokers stop smoking for some time after using these products. However, after sometime they start smoking again. The cause for again taking up smoking is that they were always conscious of having replacement pills for smoking. This means they were always conscious that smoking provides them something. Thus, the desire to smoke still exists in them. On the other hand, Hypnosis completely changes the attitude of smoker towards smoking. It put an end to the inner desire of the smoker for smoking. Once the smoker put an end to his inner desire for smoking, then he will never take up the cigarette again.
If you are a little health conscious then you can understand the importance of Hypnosis rather than nicotine replacement pills. The cause of your quitting smoking is that you want your body to be healthy, free from all kinds of toxins. However, nicotine is still getting entry into your body through the intake of these pills. So, consider Hypnosis rather than pills.
Duration taken by Hypnosis to quit smoking is quite shorter than the replacement pills. You would be astonished to know that Hypnosis takes only one hour or less to quit smoking completely. On the other hand, these replacement pills take many weeks.
In US, from your taxes you can remove the cost of programs that you have attended for quitting smoking. The cost of these programs can be added in the medical expenses amounts.
There is no provision for including the amount you have paid for drugs, in the medical expenses. The cause for not including them in the medical expenses is that they do not require any prescriptions. Thus, it would not be beneficial for you not to buy these drugs.
Finally, the result of Hypnosis on the smokers who wants to be a non-smoker is 70-80%. On the other hand, result of nicotine replacement pill is 50-60%. The cause of there low success rate is the inner consciousness of the user that, “I want to smoke and so I am substituting it.” However, Hypnosis completely puts an end to smoker’s inner consciousness and he never feels the desire to have it again.

Cigar Smoking

It’s a common misconception that cigar smoking is less dangerous than cigarette smoking. Not true. Cigars are not safer than cigarettes, but because they are used differently, the health hazards differ somewhat as well.
How does cigar smoking differ from cigarette smoking?
Approximately 75 percent of cigar smokers don't inhale and don't smoke cigars on a daily basis.
Cigarette smokers do inhale, and most smoke 20, 30 or more cigarettes every day.
These differences in smoking habit explain why cigar smokers are generally exposed to less of the poisons and carcinogens present in cigars than cigarette smokers are to similar toxins in cigarettes, and why there are fewer instances of cigar smoking-related disease and death than we see with cigarettes.
Let's take a look at a few facts about cigars and cigar smoking -- some of them might surprise you.


Facts About Cigar Smoking
1. One cigar may contain as much tobacco as an entire pack of cigarettes.
A single cigarette typically has less than a gram of tobacco, while a single cigar may contain as much as 5 to 17 grams of tobacco.

2. Cigars are addictive.
Cigar smoke breaks down in saliva, allowing the smoker to easily absorb nicotine through the lining of the mouth in quantities sufficient to cause addiction, even if the smoke is not inhaled. And, the amount of nicotine in a single cigar is many times greater than what is found in a cigarette. A typical cigarette contains one to two milligrams of nicotine, while the nicotine content of a cigar is 100 to 200 milligrams, with some as high as 400 milligrams.

3. Cigar smoke is more concentrated and toxic than cigarette smoke.
Secondhand smoke from cigars varies from that of cigarettes for a couple of reasons. First, the manufacturing process for cigars requires a fermentation period. During this time, high concentrations of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) are produced. TSNAs are some of the most carcinogenic compounds known to man. Secondly, cigar wrappers are not as porous as cigarette wrappers, making the combustion of a cigar less complete. These two factors result in higher concentrations some of the toxic chemicals in cigars than in cigarettes.

4. Smoking as little as one cigar a day increases the risk for cancer.
Cigar smoking has been linked to several different cancers, most notably those of the oral cavity, which include lip, tongue, mouth, throat and larynx. Cigar smokers who inhale are also at an increased risk for lung cancer, cancers of the pancreas and bladder, as well as heart and lung disease.

5. Cigar and pipe smokers are at risk for early tooth loss.
In a study published in the January 1999 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association, it was discovered that cigar and pipe smokers are at an increased risk for early tooth loss, compared to that of their nonsmoking counterparts. Cigar and pipe smokers are also at an increased risk for alveolar bone(the bone that holds the tooth in place) loss.

6. Cigar smoking has been linked to erectile dysfunction in men.
Smokers are twice as likely to be impotent as nonsmokers due to the adverse effects smoking has on circulation, hormones and the nervous system. Cigar smoking and exposure to second hand smoke in particular have been shown to be significant risk factors for erectile dysfunction.
All forms of tobacco have risks associated with them, and cigars are no different. Steer clear of cigars, and avoid the secondhand smoke they produce.

There is no such thing as a "safe" tobacco product.

How To Talk to Your Teen About Smoking

Starting a conversation about not smoking really isn’t as hard as you may think. Your teen is expecting for you to say something – he/she knows that most parents do. That can take the edge off. Here is how to make these conversations as effective as possible, so your teen doesn’t ever start smoking.

1: Don’t think that one talk with your teen is going to work. This is a topic that needs to come up in conversations between you and your teen often to reinforce the don’t smoke message. Have mini-talks about the different reasons for not smoking.

2: Start early – even before middle school. Tailor the conversation to your child’s age and maturity level. Keep talking until you have grandchildren to talk to.

3: Use the media, newspapers or television, to help you bring up the subject. When you see a smoking advertisement, show your teen how it targets him/her. Ask your teen how he/she would fight against this kind of advertising.

4: Talk about smoking addiction. Ask your teen how he/she likes making his/her own choices. Tell him/her that while the first cigarette is their choice, smoking becomes addictive very quickly. Therefore, it will soon be the cigarettes making the choice for them.

5: Talk to your teen about the financial cost of smoking. Smoking is an expensive habit and it will only get more expensive as time goes on. Does your teen really want to spend all of their allowance on cigarettes? Smoking means less money for other fun activities.

6: Know the facts about smoking and your health. Bring them up when someone you know is suffering from them. This sounds harsh, but it is life. Don’t shield your teen from it. When Aunt Millie calls and her voice is raspy due to cigarette smoking, you should make it clear to your teen that smoking is the reason her voice sounds like that.

7: Make the consequences of smoking personal for your teen. Bring up what smoking can do to your teen’s ability to play sports, be in band or insert your teen’s activity here.

8: Discuss the fact that the majority of teens, and adults, do not smoke. It may seem to your teen that smoking is common if their friends smoke, but it isn’t.

9: Talk about the immediate side effects of smoking with your teen. Bad breath, yellow teeth and the stink on a smoker’s clothes are side effects that teens can relate to. These things are ‘gross’ and do not make them ‘look cool’.

10: Tell your teen that it is okay to say no to a friend who is offering him/her a cigarette. Role-play how this is done and go through a few scenarios.

Teen Girls Smoking

Concern about weight and the drive to be thin increase the risk a girl will become a daily smoker by the time she’s 18 or 19 years old, according to a new study sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Weight concerns increased the risk for both black and white girls.
The study found that other factors early in life also increased the risk of later smoking, including stress, a parent with high school or less education, being from a one-parent household, drinking alcohol, poor academic performance, and poor conduct. Each factor affected the risk to differing degrees in black and white girls.
The study, which appears in the June issue of Preventive Medicine, was based on data from the NHLBI-sponsored Growth and Health Study (NGHS). Lead investigator Dr. Carolyn Voorhees of The Johns Hopkins University Medical School and an NHLBI Research Fellow at the time of the study, led the analysis with collaborators at the University of California at Berkeley, CA, Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, OH, Westat, Inc, in Rockville, MD, and the Maryland Medical Research Institute in Baltimore, MD.

“Getting youths not to start smoking has been very hard,” said NHLBI Director Dr. Claude Lenfant. “Many environmental, social, and psychological factors are involved in determining which youths are at most risk. By helping to identify key factors involved in girls’ decisions to smoke, the study may lead to the development of more effective smoking prevention programs.”

“Many of the factors identified in this study as increasing girls’ risk of becoming smokers were not even on our radar screens 10 years ago,” said Voorhees, “and the drive for thinness among black girls has not been previously reported.”

National surveys show that teenage smoking, especially among whites, is on the rise, with the biggest increase being among high school seniors. More than 3,000 young persons start smoking each day, according to Federal estimates. Current predictions are that, in the United States, more than 5 million of today’s young smokers will go on to die of a tobacco-related illness.
NGHS involved 2,379 black and white girls at three locations — Richmond, CA, Cincinnati, OH, and metropolitan Washington, DC. The girls were followed for 9 years and were ages 9 and 10 at the start of the study.
Researchers looked at five categories of smoking. The categories were based on the number of days a girl had smoked over 30 days: No smoking, experimental (5 or fewer days), occasional (6-19 days), regular (20-29 days), and daily (30 days).
Researchers also assessed the girls’ blood lipids, blood pressure, food intake, and physical activity. Additionally, girls underwent in-depth interviews on various subject areas. Most assessments were repeated annually. Information on parental and guardian education and other topics also was gathered.
In this study, researchers compared the effects of risk factors for becoming a daily smoker in black and white girls, as well as examining the impact of each risk factor independently for each group.

Among the study’s other key findings were:

White girls were more likely than black girls to become daily smokers, while black girls were likely than white girls to become experimental or occasional smokers.
For black girls, weight concerns and a drive for thinness at ages 11-12 were the most important factors leading to daily smoking at ages 18-19.
For white girls, in addition to weight concerns at ages 11-12, poor conduct and stress at those ages and having a one-parent household were the most important factors leading to daily smoking at ages 18-19.

Suicide from Cigarette

Smoking, especially after the introduction of tobacco, was an essential component of different cultures and became integrated with important traditions such as weddings, funerals and was expressed especially in literature and poetry. Smoking is a “practice where a substance, commonly tobacco, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled”. It means a person who smoke is going to kill himself, because he is inhaling smoke of fire. In other words we can say that he is going to suicide. The Hubly Bubly and cigarette are common methods of smoking in all over the world.
Smoking causes many types of diseases. The most obvious drawback of smoking is that it effects our appearance. Through smoking nails become yellowish and rough. These yellowish and turned nail looks very bad and effect on the personality. It creates wrinkles on our face and we become older than our present age. So, in short smoking effects our outlook.

Smoking causes most deadly diseases like Cancer and Heart diseases. Smoke damages the respiratory system due to which our lungs suffer. The symptoms are permanent cough and it become verse by the passage of time and finally become lungs cancer. There is Nicotine in tobacco and it increases the blood pressure and forces the heart to work harder to deliver oxygen. Meanwhile, carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke puts a negative effect on the heart. Medical science proves 80% of smokers got heart dieses.
National health and medical research council of Australia has proved that almost more than 60% people in the world are smokers and from these 30% are passive smokers. It means whenever people smoke, all the others around them are smoking too because they breathe in the same environment. A review of the evidence on the health effects of passive smoking showed that passive smoking causes lower respiratory illness and asthma in children. Giving up smoking can reduce the risk of developing many of these and diseases.
Quitting smoking is not easy, but it can be done. If a person quit smoking, his skin will become fair, he will feel taste better, think better, energetic, breathe smoothly and he can avoid himself from different deadly diseases. With in days he can feel a beautiful change.