AFTER U QUIT

[judyb]

~saw batman and Flo discussing this......



AFTER THE LAST CIGARETTE

After less than 30 min of smoking your last cigarette:

- pulse returns to normal*
- blood pressure drops down to normal*
- temperature of hands and feet increase to normal*

After 8 hours:

- blood's oxygen level returns to normal*
- carbon monoxide level in blood decreases to normal*

After 24 hours:

- risk of heart attack decreases

After 48 hours:

- sense of smell and taste increase
- nerve endings begin regrowth

After 72 hours:

- breathing becomes easier after bronchial tubes relax
- lung capacity increases

After 2 weeks to 3 months:

- lung ability increases by as much as 30%
- circulation improves
- walking is easier

After 1 to 9 months:

- body's energy level increases
- lungs increase their ability to handle mucus, reduce
infection and clean themselves
- sinus congestion, coughing, fatigue, shortness of
breath decrease

After 5 years:

- death rate because of lung cancer decreases about 50% for the average, one-pack-a-day
smoker

After 10 years:

- death rate from lung cancer becomes about equal to that
of non-smokers
- risks for other cancers (mouth, larynx, pancreas,
bladder, kidney and esophagus) decrease
- pre-cancerous cells are replaced

* "Normal" refers to what was an average level for you before smoking your last cigarette, depending
on your fitness level and other factors. . . . American Cancer Society information

[judyb]

and here's another - humourous one:

From the Quitnet Smoking Cessation BB
The Other Recovery Story: what the American Cancer Society decided
not to tell you...
ToddL on 09/22/1998 17:14:50

There is even more good news that the American Cancer Society doesn't want to relate to those
contemplating a quit. Maybe they think it's best that we discover these remarkable post-quit events and
changes on our own, or maybe they don't know about them:

From the time you quit smoking:

Within 20 minutes: you begin looking for loopholes in your quit commitment, thinking about postponing
the whole arrangement until after the next millenium begins.

Within 8 hours: you have already contemplated at least three murders and several other brutal acts of
violence. Your city or town declares a mysterious and unforeseen water shortage, while municipal
sewers are suddenly overwhelmed.

Within one week: you have consumed enough calories to sustain a Bengali village of 2000 for four years.
Food shortages become critical within your region; pets and local wild animals become nervous. Quitzits
establish early outposts on your face. Risk of Browser's Butt Syndrome (BBS) rises to equal those of
13-year-old boys with new computers and internet access. Smileys appear in your writing and begin to
replicate

Within one month: you have already begun to pester nonsmokers and complain about the smell of their
obnoxious cigarettes; IQ returns to low double-digits; Quitzits begin to function autonomously.
Exclamation point shortages prevail across the land.

Within two months: you begin to forget the pain and misery of the first week without cigarettes, and are
wondering if you could, perhaps, remind yourself of what you've been missing; Quitzits establish
territorial treaties with each other.

Within five months: intelligence returns to at least 60% of its pre-quit level; concentration remains a
problem, at only 50%; carpal tunnel syndrome incidence exceeds all known levels for any
keyboard-intensive occupation; you have typed more words than are contained within all the works of
William Shakespeare, but with more flair and "sparkle".

I'd go further, but I haven't gotten there yet. I'll keep you posted, though.

It's still way, way, worth it.

Quitnet - ToddL

[Flo]

Thanks judyb.

Not to be critical, but the second thread is a bit troublesome. If I had felt like this during my first year into the quit, I don't know if I would have made it. This quit I felt no qualms, no indecision. It was crystal clear to me that I could not smoke. True, after a year, I have noticed my intelligence returning to normal, as with my appetite...whew! Looking back, although I was thoroughly committed to my quit, I was flying on the extra oxygen!

[Don]

When you are newly quit and feeling like you're going crazy--this list gives you benchmarks to reach. Each minute gained is one less smoked.