What you gain by quitting

• After 20 minutes - your blood pressure and pulse rate return to normal.
• After eight hours - oxygen levels in your blood return to normal.
• After 24 hours - carbon monoxide levels in your body fall and your lungs start to clear out mucus and other smoking debris.
• After 48 hours - there's no nicotine left in your body and your senses of taste and smell return.
• After 72 hours - breathing becomes easier as your bronchial tubes begin to relax and your energy levels increase.
• Two to 12 weeks later - circulation improves throughout the body, making walking and running a whole lot easier.
• Three to nine weeks later - coughs, wheezing and breathing problems get better as your lung function is increased by up to ten per cent.
  
• After five years - your risk of heart attack falls to about half that of a smoker.
  
• Ten years on - your risk of lung cancer falls to half that of a smoker and your risk of heart attack is the same as someone who has never smoked.