Smoking
It's Never Too Late to Quit
We’ll be honest: quitting smoking is tough. The first week can be especially difficult. Thankfully, the benefits start happening within the first 24 hours of not smoking! This can give you the motivation to keep going.
Whether you smoke cigarettes, cigars, a pipe or hookah, you already know the toll it takes. What you may not know is how quickly your body starts to heal the moment you stop — and that no matter how long you've smoked, quitting still works.
Quitting isn't a single moment. It's a journey, and most people who succeed have tried more than once. Every attempt teaches you something. Every day without a cigarette is a step forward, even if the road isn't a straight line. You don't have to do it alone. QuitlineNC is here to help with personalized coaching and quit medications — for free.
What Counts as Smoking
This page is for anyone who uses combustible or lit
including:- Cigarettes
- Cigars and cigarillos
- Pipes
- Hookah (waterpipe tobacco)
Whichever way you smoke, the nicotine dependence — and the path to quitting — shares a lot in common. QuitlineNC's coaches understand the differences, too, and will tailor your quit plan to your habits, triggers and routine. They will also talk to you about using nicotine replacement therapy (like the nicotine patch, gum or lozenges) to make it easier to stay the course.
| Time after Quitting | Physical Health Changes |
|---|---|
| 20 minutes | Heart rate and blood pressure begun to drop. |
| 12 hours | Carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal. |
| Two weeks to three months | Circulation improves; lung function begins to increase. |
| One to nine months | Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; lungs start clearing out mucus. |
| One year | Risk of coronary heart disease is cut roughly in half compared to a smoker. |
| Five years | Risk of stroke drops to that of a non-smoker. |
| 10 years | Risks of lung cancer death drops to about half that of a smoker. |
| 15 years | Risk of coronary heart disease matches that of someone who never smoked. |
It's a Journey — Not a Single Moment
Quitting smoking rarely happens in a straight line, and that's okay. Most people who successfully quit for good made several attempts first. If you've tried before and started again, that's not failure — that's practice.
QuitlineNC meets you wherever you are on that journey:
- Thinking about quitting? We'll help you build a plan that fits your life.
- Ready to set a quit date? We'll help you prepare for it.
- Quit before and started again? We'll help you figure out what to do differently this time.
- Already quit and want to stay quit? We'll help you stay on track through the hard moments.
