Can The Damage From Smoking Be Reversed?

Featured Article, Healthy Living
on July 8, 2014
smoker
Ashtray
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So you lit up a few times (okay, more than a few times) back in your younger and more reckless years. Or maybe you were a lifelong smoker who finally kicked the habit to the curb. Whether you were once an occasional social smoker or a pack-a-day chain smoker, will your bad habits of bygone years come back to haunt you?

In this day and age, it’s basically a no-brainer that smoking is bad for you. Really bad for you. Statistics show that, on average, smokers live 14 years less than their non-smoking counterparts. Smoking greatly amplifies an individual’s risk of winding up with all kinds of deadly diseases and conditions: heart disease, lung disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and basically all types of cancers. Cigs can also lead to premature aging and damaged tooth enamel. The list goes on and on.

Here’s the bad news. If you have smoked heavily at some point in your lifetime, those cigarettes have likely rendered some degree of irreparable damage on your heart and lungs. But there’s good news, too. Virtually the same day you quit smoking, your body will instantaneously begin to repair itself. Within a year of quitting, your risk of having a heart attack diminishes by 50 percent. What’s more, according to the American Cancer Society, smokers who quit before the age of 35 prevent 90 percent of smoking-related health problems. And a smoker who quits before age 50 halves their risk of dying within the next 15 years.

In other words, it’s never too late to quit. Doing so can add years to your life—and undo some of the negative changes that were wrought on your body.

Tune in below to learn more about the current research on how quitting smoking can save your life: