Nearly 200 million adult women worldwide smoke cigarettes. According to The Tobaco Atlas, 24.7% of female smoke cigarettes in the United States of America.

The American Cancer Society and the World Lung Foundation state that:

Smoking decreases fertility in women, combines with oral contraceptives to increase the risk of heart attacks and stroke, and results in poor health outcomes for fetuses and newborns. If women begin smoking at rates equivalent to men, the world will face a public health disaster of enormous proportions.

But if you stop smoking now. What would be the benefits? And when would you see the benefits?

One of the primary motives why it is so difficult to stop smoking is due to the fact that most of the advantages of quitting appear to be a long way away…

quitting smoking

Photo by Michael Banks via Flickr

So here’s a timeline about some of the more immediate effects of quitting smoking and how they will affect your body right now.

  • In 20 minutes your blood pressure will drop back down to normal.
  • In 8 hours the carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) levels in your blood stream will drop by half, and oxygen levels will return to normal.
  • In 48 hours your chance of having a heart attack will have decreased. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will return to a normal level.
  • In 72 hours your bronchial tubes will relax, and your energy levels will increase.
  • In 2 weeks your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks.
  • In 3 to 9 months coughing, wheezing, and breathing problems will dissipate as your lung capacity improves by 10%.
  • In 1 year your risk of having a heart attack will have dropped by half.
  • In 5 years your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker.
  • In 10 years your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
  • In 15 years your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non-smoker.

…more at: What Happens to Your Body If You Stop Smoking Right Now?

It seems that you have more immediate benefits than you thought! So, do yourself a favor and quit now!