The Body Before and After Quitting Smoking: A Comparison

Quitting smoking isn’t easy because the body goes through tough withdrawal symptoms once nicotine leaves your system.

For many lifelong smokers, even knowing how cigarettes harm the lungs, heart, and stomach isn’t always enough to overcome the urge to light up.

Still, anyone determined to quit for good can look forward to significant mental, physical, and emotional benefits.

In this article, we’ll explore how the body changes before and after quitting smoking.

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Dental Health Improvements

Long-term smokers tend to have noticeably worse oral health, as the mouth is one of the areas most affected by the chemicals in cigarette smoke.

Discolored and stained teeth are common, with some smokers even developing dark spots after years of use.

Fortunately, stains can often be treated by a dentist, restoring a brighter smile and boosting confidence in social interactions.

Beyond staining, smoking also puts gums at high risk of gum disease, early tooth loss, chronic bad breath, and a lingering unpleasant taste.

Once you quit, gum circulation improves, allowing essential nutrients to help prevent infection and speed up healing.

Improved blood flow also supports a stronger jawbone, reducing bone loss that’s often worse in smokers.

With time – often within several months to a year – your oral health can greatly recover after quitting.

Better Breathing

While smokers may take in enough oxygen to function, that doesn’t mean their respiratory health is unaffected.

Even physically active smokers don’t measure up to non-smokers when it comes to endurance and lung performance.

Cigarette smoke directly damages the lungs and is a leading cause of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and emphysema.

The warnings on cigarette packs are accurate – smoking truly contributes to these serious conditions.

Tar and toxic substances from smoke harm the delicate lung tissue, with tar buildup blocking airways and causing wheezing or heavy breathing.

Right after quitting, your lungs start the recovery process, which can cause temporary shortness of breath.

The cilia, small hair-like structures in the lungs, begin clearing out toxins, leading to coughing and mucus production as part of the healing process.

During this stage, it’s normal to feel congested or notice phlegm as your body cleans itself.
Within a few weeks to a month, lung function begins to improve, breathing becomes easier, and stamina increases without harmful chemicals slowing you down.

Noticing how your lungs feel before versus after quitting often inspires people to embrace a more active lifestyle, now free from constant breathlessness.

Thicker and Fuller Hair

When your body isn’t concentrating on playing defence against the dangerous chemicals of cigarette smoke, you’ll notice a big difference in your hair before and after quitting smoking.

According to studies, smokers put themselves at a high risk of losing hair. Due to poor blood flow in the body caused by smoking, the follicles do not get the nutrients they need.

Smoking is also a primary cause of oxidative stress in the body. High levels of free radicals in your system can significantly damage your DNA and sensitive hair follicles.

If you’re not genetically predisposed to balding, you will notice your hair becoming thicker and fuller again after quitting.

A Livelier Portrait

It might be subtle, but you’ll surely notice the difference in your face before and after quitting smoking.

A smoker’s skin will feel dry and thin. Collagen and elastin (the two important proteins for skin elasticity and firmness) break down faster due to the chemicals consumed in cigarette smoke.

With small amounts of these two proteins, you’ll have premature wrinkles, fine lines, and a dulling complexion. You might also see more acne and psoriasis symptoms if you don’t stop smoking soon.

After quitting smoking, the better blood flow in your body aids in nourishing the skin. It also slows down the breakdown of collagen and elastin proteins, giving your skin and face a fuller and livelier look.

More importantly, once you quit, your complexion also gets better. Chemicals in tobacco cause aging spots, which are dark, grey, or bluish patches of skin. After stopping, skin cell turnover speeds up, improving your complexion better than before.

The Timeline of Recovery

Seeing the before-and-after improvements after you stop smoking, it only takes a few steps to get these benefits and more.

Here’s a helpful quit-smoking journey timeline that shows how much you’ve recovered from the time you’ve made the right decision.

After 6 Days: It’s worthwhile to congratulate yourself even after 6 days of quitting. By this time, you’re nicotine-free, have better antioxidant levels (which help the skin and improve hair growth), and have decreased withdrawal symptoms.

After 1 Month: After a month of quitting, you have a lower risk of developing heart disease and cancer. Any significant damage on the lungs due to smoking has also healed by this time, helping you breathe better. You’ll also see significant changes in your skin and sense of smell and taste.

After 4 Months: As your second quarter without cigarettes begins, you’ll feel strong enough to embark on physical activities. Your lungs are completely nicotine and chemical-free, and you have no more physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms.

After 1 Year: 12 months of quitting has helped your lungs fully recover. You’re also psychologically better without feeling as stressed and anxious as you were while you were smoking. Importantly, you may have noticed some minor weight gain over the year – a completely normal occurrence because your body has returned to a healthier state.

How to Get Started Quitting Today

If you’re ready to get started on your quit journey, you just need to take a few steps towards wellness.

Go Through First-Line Solutions First

Some motivated smokers can handle cold turkey just fine and see success within a few tries, but oftentimes, smokers have strong withdrawals that can draw them back to lighting a stick.

That’s where nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products come in. These are readily available and stocked at your local pharmacy.

NRT products are the most trusted quitting option available for motivated smokers. They might not imitate cigarettes, but they contain a small dose of nicotine that may be enough to alleviate your withdrawals. These come in the form of patches and gums for easy and convenient nicotine delivery.

While NRTs can be effective, they don’t work for everyone. If these haven’t done the trick for you, you may now be eligible for a nicotine prescription to use nicotine vaping products (NVPs).

Chat to a GP

As mentioned, NRT products have worked for many successful ex-smokers. But, you might have ingrained behaviours and triggers that only something that mimics a cigarette can successfully address, such as the hand-to-mouth motion, and needing something to use while having a drink with friends. 

That is where NVPs become very handy in helping you fight the urge to consume tobacco.

You need a nicotine prescription before you can purchase NVPs, so you’ll need to consult with a GP to help you on your smoking cessation journey. 

And, if your GP deems it necessary, they can write you a nicotine prescription for NVPs. 

You can chat to your usual GP more about this.

Visit Your Local Pharmacy

Once you have your nicotine prescription, you can pop down to your local pharmacy. Over 2,200 pharmacies across Australia hold these products in-store, but any pharmacy can order these in for you if they don’t currently stock them.

Both your pharmacist and GP can advise you on how best to use the product, such as the initial setup, and the number of puffs to take when you feel withdrawals.

Summary

Everyone wants to have a better quality of life. Quitting smoking can improve your oral health, hair, skin, and more. It’s true that quitting is tough during the first few weeks, but if you keep yourself motivated, it’s easy to see the benefits in your life before and after quitting smoking.

We know that you’re reading this because you want to stop smoking for good. We can help.

Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around! 

If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good.

Link Reference

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9069908/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26574302/