I quit smoking three months ago, how long will it take for my lungs to fully recover?

Monday, July 26th, 2010 • Category

To clarify, I am a 35 year old male who smoked for 15 years – I smoked between 6-8 filtered cigarettes a day for 5 years and then stopped smoking cigarettes and switched to smoking 2 fairly slim cigars a day for the remaining 10 years.

I do exercise regularly – I walk 2 miles a day.

Sorry if this is in the wrong section- think of it as *preventing* respiratory disease!

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There Are 12 Comments. »

Comment by Sasha on 26 July 2010:

In 20 minutes your blood pressure will drop back down to normal.

In 8 hours the carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) levels in your blood stream will drop by half, and oxygen levels will return to normal.

In 48 hours your chance of having a heart attack will have decreased. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will return to a normal level.

In 72 hours your brochial tubes will relax, and your energy levels will increase.

In 2 weeks your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks.

In three to nine months coughs, wheezing and breathing problems will dissipate and your lung capacity improves by 10%.

In 1 year your risk of having a heart attack will have dropped by half.

In 5 years your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker.

In 10 years your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non-smoker.

In 15 years your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
Comment by sm on 26 July 2010:

about 15 to 20 year but if you keep smoking the cigars no matter how slim never
Comment by designedtolast on 26 July 2010:

First of all a MASSIVE congratulations – 3 months in and you are not mentioning the craving! Brilliant. I am a mere 18 days into no smoking, I smoked for 33 years between 15 and 20 a day. I am only 44 now but started very young.

I have read so much about this and find that the tar never completely leaves your lungs, it diminishes over years and years, but with all the pollution in the atmosphere (not as bad as inhaling tobacco but still pollution) it never goes completely.

I trust you are feeling healthier though (I certainly am) which is a sure sign that you have helped to prevent any problems that may have occurred due to your smoking.

Again, well done.
Comment by kramae on 26 July 2010:

Your lungs will never fully recover, the damage has already been done over the last 15 years. Congratulations on quiting though. Quitting will insure you that no additional damage will be done.
Comment by jemmylooloo on 26 July 2010:

sorry i dont no the answer to this questrion but well done for quiting xx good luck
Comment by Professor on 26 July 2010:

I have read the same NHS document as Sasha and I suspect it is true. Well done on giving up. Never start again. If you smoked 40 a day it would cost you £80,000 in a life time. If you smoked more – say 50 a day, it would cost you less as you would die earlier
Comment by Timothy H on 26 July 2010:

well done, Don’t be put off by all the horror stories posted here you actually didn’t smoke that much. I smoked roll ups, Lambert’s and B’n'H for years. I’ve given up now of cause because it’s Dumb!

It’s actually up to 7 years for the tar to go but your lungs will never heal due to the scar tissue in your lungs but my point is your lungs should cope with this and compensate especially as from what I understand about cigar smoking you don’t actually take it all the way down. So I think you’ll live
Comment by amzudoc on 26 July 2010:

If you don’t smoke for the next 15 years your lungs will be back in normal functioning and get back their original tissues.Remember, no smoking for 15 years.
Comment by Laura C on 26 July 2010:

i dont know the answer but go to a doctor because my sister smoked and she went to a doctor and he gave her an inhaler and she had like this wet cough and by like 6 months she was fine
good job with your smoking
lots of love
laura ; | x O |
Comment by Mick Marciano on 26 July 2010:

their in perfect shape now. probably even better than a non smoker. smoking is good for you so keep smoking.
Comment by henry on 26 July 2010:

takes 10 to 15 years for your lungs to heal. Quitting also signifiantly reduces the risks of pulmonary and cardiovascular problems. The human body is able to regenerate healthy new cells which will supersede the damaged ones.
Comment by Blokh on 26 July 2010:

You may already know how long does it take, but here is what you need to know to make sure you are able to cut down the natural healing time and clean yourself before it becomes a problem.

FACT: It takes upto 10 years after you quit smoking to reduce your risk of lung cancer in to half.

SOLUTION: You can detoxify your lungs naturally (thank God). There are several exercises, vitamins and procedures that help you clean your system.

Breathing Exercises like inhaling all that you can, then holding it there for a few seconds and exhaling out as far as you could go is a great lung exercise. It makes your lung expand completely, and then contract. This will help loosen the grip of tar and eventually make it come up as cough (though it takes a week or so for you to see the first trace of tar coming out). You need to do this exercise for 10 minutes (or whatever comfortable) as many times as convenient and comfortable.

Other treatments and procedures include Kapalbhati Yoga exercise, Neti (using a Neti Pot) etc. All this information can be found on the site in the source