The health consequences of smoking range from chronic irritation of the bronchi to weakening of the immune system and even lung cancer. In Germany, the number of smokers has recently increased further to almost 33 percent, as a long-term study shows. Every smoker knows that smoking is not good for your health, but getting rid of the habit is difficult for many people. The facts definitely speak in favor of quitting. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, 127,000 Germans die every year as a result of tobacco consumption. On average, heavy smokers lose ten years of their life.
The good news: Quitting smoking still has positive effects on your health at any age. There are over 4,000 substances in cigarette smoke, including tar, chromium, benzene, arsenic and lead. They sometimes cause a lot of damage to the body. Stopping reaching for the fag every day is one of the most important points in improving your own health.
Among other things, it reduces the risk of twelve types of cancer, including liver, stomach, esophageal and lung cancer. The body manages to recover even after decades of smoking if no permanent organic damage has occurred. Statistically speaking, anyone who starts abstaining from nicotine between the ages of 25 and 35 will extend their life by ten years. Life expectancy if you stop smoking between the ages of 55 and 64 increases by four years.
Quitting smoking: first effects noticeable quickly
New non-smokers can notice some effects relatively shortly after their last cigarette: food tastes better, the sense of smell normalizes, breath and hair smell better. The body needs a little longer for some effects, as a cohort study with 8,770 participants from the USA shows. Almost 2,400 test subjects were heavy smokers – if they stopped smoking, their risk of cardiovascular disease was reduced by almost 40 percent in the first five years without cigarettes.
In order to have the same low risk as lifelong non-smokers and lifelong non-smokers, it took the test subjects ten, 15 and in some cases 25 years. We show what happens in the body and when after the last cigarette in the picture gallery.
Sources:Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General, CDC, American Cancer Society, Smoke-free campaign, German Cancer Research Center 1, Lung doctors online, German Cancer Research Center 2, Study from the USA in Jama, Federal Ministry of Health