What you can expect?

So you’ve decided to quit smoking? Your body will thank you for it! See what will happen beginning on D-Day.

After 20 smoke-free minutes

• Your blood pressure slowly returns to normal.
• Your pulse slows down and your heart is already doing better.
• Your circulation improves: your hands and your feet are already less cold.

After 8 smoke-free hours

• All the carbon monoxide contained in your last cigarette has left your bloodstream.
• The oxygen concentration contained in your blood slowly returns to normal.

After 24 smoke-free hours

• The risk of a heart attack is already lower than when you were smoking.
• Nicotine is slowly beginning to be evacuated from your body.

After 48 smoke-free hours

• Your nerve endings are slowly beginning to regenerate themselves.
• Your sense of smell and taste are coming back to life. Eating is more enjoyable – everything is so much tastier!

After 72 smoke-free hours

• Nicotine has almost entirely left your body.
• Your bronchial tubes get relief and your lung capacity grows.

After 2 weeks and up to 3 months smoke-free

• Your circulation improves even more. Your blood contains more oxygen. Exercising is easier!
• Your lungs start to work better. In some people, the respiratory capacity can increase by 30%, on condition that smoking was stopped before the appearance of irreversible damage to the respiratory system.
• If you’re pregnant and you stopped smoking three months before conception, your risk of giving birth to a low-birth-weight baby is comparable to that of a non-smoker.

After 9 months to 1 year smoke-free

• The cilia in your lungs have regenerated. These facilitate the evacuation of foreign substances and help protect your lungs from disease. So long, persistent coughs, chronic colds and shortness of breath!
• After 1 year, you can cry victory: you’re a non-smoker! But be careful: you’ll have to stay on guard and learn to recognize the situations that might incite you to start again one day.

After 1 year and more smoke-free

• Among female ex-smokers, the risk of suffering from cervical cancer is the same as it is for non-smokers.
• The risk of heart disease drops by half after one year and becomes comparable to the risk for a non-smoker after 10 to 15 years.
• The risk of developing cancer of the mouth, the throat, the esophagus, the kidneys or the pancreas continues to drop.
• After 10 years without tobacco, you run twice as little risk of dying from lung cancer. Your lungs will become healthy again over time, unless you suffer from emphysema.