Withdrawal and Healing

• In less than 24 hours after smoking your last cigarette, your body will begin to heal the damage it has suffered during your tobacco use. Unfortunately, you may not feel well enough to appreciate the immediate changes. As your body heals, it rids itself of carbon monoxide. As a result, you may experience uncomfortable, physical after effects such as dizziness, headaches, insomnia and fatigue. The American Cancer Society reports that these symptoms may last for approximately two to three days. It is also important to note that your risk of having a heart attack also begins to diminish within the first 24 hours of quitting smoking.
  
  

Lung Function

• When you smoke, the little hairs in your lungs (cilia) become irritated and unable to adequately fulfill the filtration process. But after several months of carcinogen-free air, they begin to recover. The American Lung Association explains that over a period of nine months, your sense of taste and smell intensify, and your blood circulation begins to improve. You will also feel an improvement in your breathing, and instances of shortness of breath will decrease.
  
  

The Heart

• If you continue to smoke despite all of the health warnings, your heart could possibly pay the price. With every puff, your risk of heart attack increases. But if you quit, your heart may just stand a chance after one year of healthy, smoke-free living. In fact, the Cleveland Clinic states that if you decide to stop smoking you will actually cut your heart attack risk in half.
  
  

Stroke Risk

• The effect that smoking has on your brain can be catastrophic, but the after effects are actually quite promising. Once you are smoke-free for approximately five years, your risk of having a stroke is greatly reduced. In fact, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, your chances of having a stroke revert back to that of the days before you even began smoking.
  
  

Weight Gain

• Unfortunately, there is one after effect of smoking that is not so appealing. As your sensory nerves begin to grow back, you may begin to view food in a new way. Food may smell better and taste better, and you may find that you will want to eat more often then you did when you were smoking. This is because nicotine works as an appetite suppressant. When you no longer have the nicotine addiction, hunger often returns on a larger scale. MayoClinic explains that you may even begin to fill the smoking void with snacking. But keep in mind that once you begin to feel better and experience an energy increase because your lungs are no longer filled with carbon monoxide, you may be more compelled to exercise. The exercise will increase your metabolism and help you to burn off those extra calories that you put on when you decided to quit smoking.