Health improvement when quitting smoking
The negative repercussions of smoking are widely known. However, the immediate and long-term health benefits of quitting smoking are significant.
Quitting smoking improves the health of a wide variety of body organs. Even if you smoke for a long time, quitting tobacco offers surprising and even immediate benefits.
Every year, around 63,000 people in Spain die from tobacco-related problems, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, cerebrovascular accidents or cancer. While the dangers of smoking are well known, quitting is also incredibly difficult, leading many to abandon attempts to quit nicotine, assuming the damage has already been done. However, as research shows, there are many benefits.
Improvements in heart rate and breathing
Anyone who quits smoking can expect an improvement in their heart rate and breathing.
The first change, which can occur within a few hours after quitting smoking, is a decrease in heart rate, according to Humberto Choi, a pulmonologist at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States. The high levels of carbon monoxide in the blood of smokers (about three times higher) also return to normal in a matter of days.
As the weeks go by, other changes occur. One of the main ones is improved lung function and decreased cough, which can help improve exercise capacity. These changes make it easier to breathe and make it less difficult to develop and maintain an exercise habit, such as going for regular walks or strength training in the morning. “In general, people tend to feel better,” says Choi.
Exercise also offers an alternative habit to replace tobacco. ‘The habit doesn’t go away quickly,’ says Choi; ‘it’s good to add something else’.
Many people also report an improvement in their sense of smell and taste in the weeks and months after quitting.
Significant reduction in the risk of heart attack or stroke
As months turn into years, quitting smoking can dramatically reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack or stroke.
“In the first two years after quitting smoking, much of the excess risk is lost,” says Marie Robertson, cardiologist and scientific director of the American Heart Association.
As Robertson points out, this risk continues to decrease the longer you quit smoking. At 10 years, the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease decreases by 63% compared to smokers. After 20 or 30 years, this risk drops to levels similar to someone who has never smoked.
The decrease in cancer risk becomes evident after a decade
As time goes by, the risk of developing certain types of cancer also decreases. Around the age of 10 is when this risk decreases significantly.
‘After 10 years, the risk of death [from] lung cancer is half that of smokers,’ says Farhad Islami, scientific director of the American Cancer Society and a researcher who studies cancer risks in various populations.
Islami assures that a similar reduction in risk occurs in other types of cancer related to tobacco, such as those of the head, neck or esophagus.
In a recent paper co-authored by Islami, he and his colleagues found that between 20 and 29 years after quitting smoking, the risk of dying from cancer drops by about 90%. For people who were able to quit smoking before age 35, the reduction in risk is even greater, to the point that over a period of two to three decades their risk of dying from smoking-related cancers becomes almost equivalent to that of a person who has never smoked.
‘The best thing is to stop smoking at an earlier age’, says Islami. But, he adds, even if people aren’t able to quit until they’re older, ‘the benefits are still very, very substantial.’
The progression of smoking-related diseases is reduced
For people with chronic diseases related to smoking, such as cancer, heart disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), quitting smoking can slow the progression of the disease, while improving the odds of survival.
‘The probability of suffering a relapse after cancer is lower if you stop smoking,’ says Choi.
For people who have already had a heart attack, quitting smoking can reduce the chances of having a second heart attack and worsening COPD.
“We want people to stop smoking before they develop these diseases,” says Luba Yammine, a researcher at UTHealth Houston in the United States whose research focuses on substance use disorder. And he adds that ‘if you have already developed the disease, it will still be very beneficial to stop smoking.’
Addiction is complex
Smoking can be one of the most difficult addictions to quit, due to a number of factors.
‘Nicotine is the most addictive substance that exists’, says Yammine. ‘It is very easy to become addicted and very difficult to leave it’. Difficulties in quitting smoking occur due to a mixture of physical and behavioral factors.
The first challenge is due to physical dependence on nicotine, which can cause a combination of cravings and withdrawal symptoms after quitting.
‘This combination of urges and withdrawal symptoms is quite unpleasant,’ says Yammine. Many people report experiencing an excess of hunger after quitting, along with a general feeling of irritability. To help reduce these symptoms, there are several tools, such as nicotine patches and lozenges, or medications such as bupropion.
The second important factor that makes it difficult to quit smoking is behavior.
‘Cigarettes become a very integral part of your life,’ says Yammine. For a heavy smoker, the day is often structured around when and where they smoke, whether it’s smoking a cigarette with their morning coffee, taking periodic smoking breaks throughout the day, or lighting up in specific settings. These behaviors can become so ingrained that it is very difficult to break the habit, even if the physical withdrawal symptoms are well controlled.
Quitting smoking usually takes several attempts
Because of the difficulties associated with nicotine addiction, smokers claim to have tried to quit smoking many times, before finding an effective strategy. And what ultimately works for one person may not work for another.
While quitting smoking at once works for some, others need the help of medication to curb their anxieties. Some people need to make major changes in their daily habits to quit smoking, while others can do so with small adjustments. Some quit smoking after the first few attempts; others it takes many tries. “Each attempt is a lesson on how to do better next time,” says Robertson.
