Your healing timeline
Even if you cannot see or feel it yet, your body is working hard behind the scenes.
1-3 months after quitting
- Lung function improves by up to 30 per cent.
- Coughing and shortness of breath ease.
- Circulation gets better.
- Exercise feels easier.
- Taste and smell sharpen.
- Carbon monoxide clears, boosting energy.
6 months after quitting
- Less sinus congestion and phlegm.
- Easier breathing during activity.
- Fewer colds and respiratory infections.
- Many people feel less stressed and anxious.
1 year after quitting
- Risk of heart disease is cut in half.
- Lungs are better at clearing mucus.
- Immune system gets stronger.
- Skin looks healthier thanks to better circulation.
- Wounds and cuts heal more easily.
2-5 years after quitting
- Stroke risk drops to that of someone who never smoked.
- Risk of mouth, throat and esophagus cancer is cut in half.
- Lungs work better overall.
- Risk of dying falls closer to that of a non-smoker.
10 years after quitting
- Lung cancer risk drops by half.
- Risk of cancer of the larynx and pancreas goes down.
- Breathing and lung health keeps improving.
- Overall cancer risk keeps decreasing.
15+ years after quitting
- Heart disease risk matches someone who never smoked.
- Pancreatic cancer risk keeps falling.
- Life expectancy increases.
- Risk of dying closer to someone who never smoked.