While the world knows that smoking is bad for you, not many people know how long it takes to recover from smoking once you have stopped. A new study has revealed just how long it takes your body to get over smoking and the results are quite surprising.
It can often feel like the world is starting to move on from smoking. The health impact is huge as it increases the risk of cancer and many other deadly diseases. Still, today one in four of those suffering from cardiovascular disease are there because they smoked. It is one of the most damaging yet easily preventable diseases in the world. While many people are quitting, too many continue to smoke.
In 2020, 17.25% of Americans still smoke. European countries vary dramatically with 30% of Germans still smoking, 43% of Greeks and 19% of the UK. Australia has 14% of people still smoking while Singapore has 17%. These numbers are still far too large.
However, if people quit smoking today it would still do wonders for their health. Many smokers feel it is too late for them to quit because the damage is done but that is just not true. Within two weeks of quitting smoking your bones are already stronger, your lungs are working better and the likelihood of you suffering a heart attack has decreased.
However, if you have been smoking all your life then some things will take time. The risk of heart disease will remain higher than a non-smoker for 16 years after you quit smoking. After that point though, it will be as if you never smoked. While this is a long time, it should still be taken as good news for anyone thinking of quitting smoking. You can have another chance at a clean bill of health. If you are sick of coughing every time you try and climb the stairs then quit today. The study does show that the risk of heart disease amongst people who quit smoking will drop by 38% in the first five years.
One of the main reasons that people fail to quit smoking is because it is addictive. So many smokers are aware of the disastrous health consequences and no longer want to smoke, but they are addicted. Many people who are smokers started when smoking was seen as cool in social circles and no one was aware of the damage it caused. In fact, for a number of years, doctors actually supported smoking as a weight-loss treatment. For those people there is good news. Studies have shown that any addictive element of the nicotine will be out of a person’s system within one month. While the mental addiction will last longer it will only get easier with time.
While you can have some sympathy for those who started smoking at a time when the health issues were not clear, the people who started smoking in recent years deserve no sympathy. To pick up a drug that has such clear negative consequences and so few positives boggles the mind. Hopefully, the continued efforts by most health industries to persuade people to stop smoking will help to solve this health crisis.
If you are considering quitting there are many ways to do it. Try and get the support of friends or family members so that you are not going through this challenging time alone. It is a long road to quitting successfully but it is worth it. There are patches, tablets, tapes, books, online support groups, and even hypnosis to try as ways that have been proven to work for some. Whatever you decide to do, decide to quit.
