GOOD NEWS FOR ALL CIGARETTE SMOKERS

You might think it’s too late to quit smoking, but here is some good news from the American Cancer Society: As soon as you snuff out that last cigarette, your body will begin a series of physiological changes. I smoked for over 30 years before quitting. I would not have survived my heart problems if I had still been puffing away. The twelve years that I had not been smoking before the problem, made all the difference. Cecil......

¨      Within 20 minutes: Blood pressure, body temperature and pulse rate will drop to normal.

¨      Within eight hours: Smoker’s breath disappears.  The carbon monoxide level in blood drops and the oxygen level rises to normal.

¨      Within 24 hours: Chance of heart attack decreases.

¨      Within 48 hours: Nerve endings start to regroup.  Ability to taste and smell improves.

¨      Within three days: Breathing is easier.

¨      Within two to three months: Circulation improves.  Walking becomes easier.  Lung capacity increases up to 30 percent.

¨      Within one to nine months: Sinus congestion and shortness of breath decrease.  Cilia that sweep debris from your lungs grow back.  Energy increases.

¨      Within one year: Excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a person who smokes.

¨      Within two years: Heart attack risk drops to near normal.

¨      Within five years: Lung cancer death rate for average former pack-a-day smoker decreases by almost half.  Stroke risk is reduced.  Risk of mouth, throat and esophageal cancer is half that of a smoker.

¨      Within 10 years: Lung cancer death rate is similar to that of a person who does not smoke.  The pre-cancerous cells are replaced.

¨      Within 15 years: Risk of coronary heart disease is the same as a person who has never smoked.