The physical and mental benefits are numerous.
Stopping tobacco helps prevent cardiac andrespiratory diseases, lowers cancer risk, and boosts your overall health.
But what makes quitting challenging is theaddiction to nicotinein tobacco products.
Rizky Panuntun / Getty Images
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?
Hours Later
You wont wait long to experience the physical health benefits of quitting tobacco.
Within 20 minutes, your heart rate returns to normal.
You may feel irritated, agitated, angry, depressed, sad, or have trouble sleeping.
Some people may also notice an increased appetite.
As your lungs heal, youll begin tocoughless and have less shortness of breath.
This significantly reduces the chance of heart attack.
Your chance of having astrokealso starts to decline.
Maintaining tobacco cessation for 10 years lowers your risk of dying from lung cancer by half.
Fifteen years after stopping, your risk of coronary heart disease matches that of someone who has never smoked.
What Happens If You Replace Smoking With Vaping?
Vaping nicotineinhaling a heated, liquid form of the drughas exploded in popularity over the last two decades.
Evidence suggests smoking is more harmful to your lungs, thoughvapingcan lead to inflammation or lung damage.
Its 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.
Coping Through Triggers
The physical and psychological symptoms of quitting smoking make it a challenging feat.
It can provide you with a small amount of nicotine to help reduce cravings in the short term.
To cope when youre feeling bad, seek out emotional support.
It takes time for your body and mind to adjust to life without tobacco.
Dont Lose Heart
Remember that its perfectly normal to relapse once you quit.
Though quitting is difficult, there are many resources available to help.
There are many easily accessible resources and organizations that can help.
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National Cancer Institute.Handling nicotine withdrawal and triggers when you decide to quit tobacco.
American Lung Association.Benefits of quitting.
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.
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