If you are a smoker, no doubt you are quite aware of the health risks you take each time you light up. Maybe that is why there is a reluctance to quit, you figure you have already done the damage. What you may not know, is that 15 years after you have that last cigarette, your risk of a heart attack is the same as a lifelong non-smoker. Quitting smoking now will lead to life altering changes in your body; all positive.

It takes only a mere 20 minutes after your last cigarette for the benefits to begin.

Just 20 minutes after your last cigarette, your blood pressure will drop as will your heart rate. The carbon monoxide levels in your blood will return to normal just 12 hours after that last cigarette. Two weeks after that last puff, your circulation has improved and you are feeling a marked increase in lung function. After a month without tobacco you will notice that your coughing and shortness of breath has decreased. The cilia on your lungs begin to recoup normal function, which leads to the increased ability to clean the lungs properly. Your risk for infection will also drop.

A year after you kick the cigarette habit, your risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker. Five years after you quit, your risk of cancer in the throat, mouth and bladder are cut in half. Your risk of a stroke is now the same as a lifelong non-smoker. Finally, a decade after you quit, your risk of dying from lung cancer is half that of a continual smoker.

When you decide you want to get healthy and quit smoking, we can help. For all your chiropractic care needs, Bowmanville residents call on Spinewise Canada.