Quitting smoking and vaping: how your lungs recover
It's never too late to quit. Your body starts recovering within minutes of your last cigarette, and the benefits keep building for years.
A recovery timeline
Based on information from the CDC and other health authorities, here is roughly what happens after you quit smoking:
- Within minutes: your heart rate begins to drop back toward normal.
- Within a day or two: carbon monoxide levels in your blood fall to normal.
- Within 1 to 12 months: coughing and shortness of breath decrease as the cilia that clean your airways begin to recover.
- Within 1 to 2 years: your risk of heart attack drops sharply.
- Within 5 to 10 years: your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat and voice box drops by about half, and stroke risk falls.
- Within 10 years: your risk of lung cancer drops to about half that of someone who still smokes.
- Within 15 years: your risk of coronary heart disease is close to that of a nonsmoker.
Some lung damage, such as emphysema, can't be reversed. But quitting slows further decline significantly, at any age.
What about vaping?
E-cigarette aerosol isn't harmless water vapor. It typically contains nicotine, which is highly addictive, along with other chemicals and fine particles that are inhaled deep into the lungs. The long-term effects are still being studied. If you vape, quitting is good for your lungs too. If you've switched from smoking to vaping, the goal is to quit both.
Why quitting is hard, and what helps
Nicotine is addictive, and smoking is tied to routines and emotions. Most people need several tries. Your chances improve a lot with support:
- Counseling, in person, by phone or by text
- Nicotine replacement therapy: patches, gum, lozenges, inhalers or nasal spray
- Prescription medicines that reduce cravings, which your doctor can discuss with you
- Combining counseling with medication works better than either alone
Free help
- 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) connects you to your state's free quitline.
- Tobacco Free Florida offers free tools, coaching and nicotine replacement for Florida residents: tobaccofreeflorida.com.
- smokefree.gov has apps and text programs, including for vaping.
Smoking and HBOT
Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen your blood can carry and narrows blood vessels. For safety, smoking materials are never allowed near hyperbaric chambers. See Fire safety in hyperbaric chambers.