Studies have shown that just 20 minutes after you have smoked the last cigarette, your body begins an ongoing series of beneficial changes:

 

20 minutes…

* Blood pressure drops to normal

* Pulse rate drops to normal

* Temperature of hands and feet increases to normal

 

8 hours…

* Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal

* Oxygen level in blood increases to normal

 

24 hours…

* Chance of heart attack decreases

 

48 hours…

* Ability to smell and taste is enhanced

* Walking becomes easier

 

2 weeks to 3 months

*Circulation improves

*Lung function increases up to 30 percent

 

1 to 9 months

* Coughing, sinus, congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decrease

 

1 year

* Risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker

 

I am not a smoker but I know someone in my family who used to smoke a pack of cigarette a day. In year 2000 he was diagnosed with stage 4 esophagus cancer. He had trouble swallowing his food for a while before he went for a check up .  By the time the ENT specialist discovered the tumor it was already too big and risky to be operated.  Six months later he passed away.  He was my dad.