I’ve been smoking cigarettes for approx. 1 year+ now, & I have roughly 5 cigarettes a day. I want to quit smoking because I just tried to run a mile & found it incredibley difficult >_< If I quit smoking now, will the damage on my lungs improve or is it permanent?
Yes you are lucky that you can stop smoking, and your lungs will slowly start to recover. I have a disease that even if they found a cure tomorrow I will have permanent damage. Please make the wise choice and stop smoking.
It will improve. Your lungs will recover and you will be much better off.
it permanent….cigarettes basically dump tar onto your lungs and pretty much the only way you can get tar off of anything is to powerwash with hot water…..and they cant exactly do that to your lungs
yes, it is going to improve (I know it does)… I know someone who had 2 packs a day since he was 12!!! And quit when he was around 60?
it was hard but improved…
🙂
Yes your lungs have a chance for improvement. If you quit smoking you will also improve circulation and help to prevent heart disease too. Smoking can do all kinds of bad stuff to your body, so if you can and want to, quit as soon as possible.
The damage will always be there, but your lungs will get stronger.
Things will improve quite a bit for you!
Why quit now?
No matter how old you are or how long you’ve smoked, quitting can help you live longer and be healthier. People who stop smoking before age 50 cut their risk of dying in the next 15 years in half compared with those who keep smoking. Ex-smokers enjoy a higher quality of life with fewer illnesses from cold and flu viruses, better self-reported health, and reduced rates of bronchitis and pneumonia.
For decades the Surgeon General has reported the health risks linked to smoking. In 1990, the Surgeon General concluded:
* Quitting smoking has major and immediate health benefits for men and women of all ages. These benefits apply to people who already have smoking-related disease and those who don’t.
* Ex-smokers live longer than people who keep smoking.
* Quitting smoking lowers the risk of lung cancer, other cancers, heart attack, stroke, and chronic lung disease.
* Women who stop smoking before pregnancy or during the first 3 to 4 months of pregnancy reduce their risk of having a low birth-weight baby to that of women who never smoked.
* The health benefits of quitting smoking are far greater than any risks from the small weight gain (usually less than 10 pounds) or any emotional or psychological problems that may follow quitting.
When smokers quit — What are the benefits over time?
20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drops.
(Effect of Smoking on Arterial Stiffness and Pulse Pressure Amplification, Mahmud, A, Feely, J. 2003. Hypertension:41:183.)
12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1988, p. 202)
2 weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, pp.193, 194,196, 285, 323)
1 to 9 months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, pp. 285-287, 304)
1 year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, p. vi)
5 years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, p. vi)
10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker’s. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decrease, too.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, pp. vi, 131, 148, 152, 155, 164,166)
15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is the same as a non-smoker’s.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, p. vi)
Immediate rewards of quitting
Kicking the tobacco habit offers some benefits that you’ll notice right away and some that will develop over time. These rewards can improve your day-to-day life a great deal.
* your breath smells better
* stained teeth get whiter
* bad smelling clothes and hair go away
* your yellow fingers and fingernails disappear
* food tastes better
* your sense of smell returns to normal
* everyday activities no longer leave you out of breath (such as climbing stairs or light housework)
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_13X_Guide_for_Quitting_Smoking.asp
More:
http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/benefitsofquitting/The_Benefits_of_Quitting_Smoking.htm
http://old.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact11.html
The book, "Changing for Good" was written by psychologists who studied thousands of people who had made significant changes in their lives, like losing weight or quitting smoking. They found that these people went through six stages and that at each stage they used certain techniques to move to the next stage. Their book explains how to apply this method to any specific situation.
These are a couple of short summaries of the method,
http://personaldevelopment.suite101.com/article.cfm/successful_lifestyle_changes
http://www.proactivechange.com/motivation/change-theory/
and you can buy the book at Amazon, as well as elsewhere.
http://www.amazon.com/Changing-Good-Revolutionary-Overcoming-Positively/dp/038072572X
Smoking Cessation:
http://www.smokefree.gov/
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/index.htm
Hi-
If you are really ready to quit, do it. While you’re here online, google the ingredients of a cigarette. You will never smoke again after you do.
well if you quit now your lungs will regenerate and you will be better off than continuing smoking im trying to quit as well but its hard!
check out this blog there are some useful articles about smoking
http://www.konstantin.co.nr