Doctors: People's health will immediately improve once they stop smoking
People will not only see an improvement to their heart and lungs, but their risk of stroke, diabetes and cancer will begin to reduce.
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Experts say following the first day of quitting smoking, people will begin to experience immediate improvement to their heart and lungs.
People will not only see an improvement to those organs, but their risk of stroke, diabetes and cancer will begin to reduce.
"Forty-two-percent of cancers are preventable, half of that is from tobacco," says Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society.
Doctors say within 5 to 10 years of quitting, a person's risk of mouth and throat cancer decreases by 50%. The risk of heart disease also goes down after 15 years of not smoking.
Lung function can be improved by up to 30% in just a few weeks, as the lungs start to clean themselves which makes it easier to breathe.
One myth about smoking doctors want to debunk is the idea that there is no point in quitting because all of the damage is done. In reality, they say just 20 minutes after one stops smoking for good, their blood pressure improves.
Dr. Dahut tells News 12 people should not beat themselves if their first attempt to quit does not work.
"It may take one time. It may take two times. May take three times, four times, five times but not giving up on it is incredibly important," says Dr. Dahut.
Click here for more information from the American Cancer Society on how quickly a body recovers from smoking.
