WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR BODY WHEN YOU STOP SMOKING?
WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR BODY WHEN YOU STOP SMOKING?
Morocco is considered one of the biggest consumers of tobacco in the Mediterranean area with more than 15 billion cigarettes a year. Like millions of ex-smokers, many Moroccans take the initiative to break with cigarettes.
So what's going on in your body when you stop smoking?
About 20 minutes after the last cigarette, the heart rate and blood pressure return to normal. "Nicotine consumption increases heart rate and blood pressure because the arteries get hard," says an addictologist. This greatly increases the risk of myocardial infarction ... "
According to a tobacco expert, "After 8 hours, the body starts to eliminate nicotine and carbon monoxide." Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas found in car exhausts.
"This gas attaches to red blood cells instead of oxygen, resulting in dull skin, delayed healing, and decreased muscle performance. "
24 to 72 hours after the last cigarette, the lungs regain some breath. They begin to evacuate mucus and smoke residue.
"48 hours after stopping, the risk of myocardial infarction begins to decrease," says an addictologist. Once the chemical substances are eliminated, the senses revive: the taste and smell return to service.
From the first week, sleep is better. After a few weeks, stopping smoking will have significant benefits on breathing. The bronchi are decluttering. Cough and fatigue will gradually fade.
Three to nine months later, the chemicals cause a decrease of the immunity, in the months following the cessation of the tobacco, the immunity of the body is reinforced.
The body is less sensitive to external aggressions and less subject to inflammation. On the side of the lungs, the bronchial lashes better evacuate the mucus of the bronchi and the capacity of cleaning of the lungs increases. The risk of infection decreases considerably.
It takes at least a year for the risk of illness related to tobacco consumption to start to recede. The risk of having a heart attack is halved. "After five years, the risk of myocardial infarction is equal to that of a person who has never smoked," said a doctor.
It is only between ten and twenty years after the last cigarette that a repented smoker returns to a life expectancy equivalent to a person who has never smoked. "Especially among people who have quit early," says the French Federation of Cardiology.