• 20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate drops.
  
  
• 12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
  
  
• 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
  
  
• Within 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.
  
  
• 1 year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's.
  
  
• 5 years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker’s.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• 15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker's.

Visible and immediate rewards of quiting»

Source: Quitting Smoking, www.cancer.org

The Georgia Tobacco Quit Line is a toll-free resource that offers counseling, screening and support services to Georgians ages 13 and older wanting to quit tobacco.
Call 1-877-270-STOP (English) or 1-877-2NO-FUME (Spanish).