What Smoking Does

• After your first puff of a cigarette, your heart speeds up and your blood pressure rises because of the blood vessels constricting. Skin temperature falls because blood is rushing to the heart. Blood sugar falls in response to the body feeling stressed.
  
  

Physical Benefits of Quitting

• After 20 minutes of not smoking, your blood pressure returns to normal. After 8 hours, carbon monoxide levels in the blood return to normal. After 48 hours, nerve endings regrow and smell and taste start to become enhanced. After 1 to 9 months, coughing, sinus problems, fatigue and shortness of breath associated with smoking decrease.
  
  

Long-Term Benefits

• Five years after quitting, your chances of dying from lung cancer decrease by almost half. After 15 years, your risk of getting heart disease is the same as that of a non-smoker.
  
  

Considerations

• Quitting smoking also benefits the health of those around you. Second-hand smoke can cause illnesses like bronchitis and pneumonia.
  
  

Financial Benefits

• Aside from being healthier and not spending money on extra doctor visits due to respiratory ailments, smokers can save money by not buying cigarettes.