Improvements happen from 20 minutes to 10 years after quitting smoking.
Most people know cigarettes are dangerous for their health. And 86.8 percent of Tennesseans believe that cigarette smoking is very addictive. What people who smoke might not realize is how fast your health can begin to improve after quitting smoking.
Just 20 minutes after your last cigarette, your heart rate and blood pressure drop. And the benefits continue, even years later. Within one year of quitting smoking, your excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a continuing smoker.
And quitting isn’t just good for your health — it’s also great for your wallet. People with a pack-a-day habit can save about $2,000 in cigarettes alone each year by quitting.
The Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine can help support you on your way to becoming smoke-free by providing counselors, strategies and even up to two weeks of nicotine patches free of charge.
Call the Quitline at 1-800-784-8669 or visit tnquitline.org.
Those at highest risk for lung cancer are ages 50 to 80; who have smoked within the past 15 years and have a 20 pack-year smoking history, meaning smoking a pack a day for 20 years, or the equivalent, such as a half-pack a day for 40 years. See if lung cancer screenings are right for you.
