Within 20 minutes: Your blood pressure drops. The temperature in your hands and feet rises.

Within 8 hours: The carbon monoxide (a gas that can be toxic) in your blood drops to normal.

Tomorrow: Your chance of having a heart attack goes down.

In 48 Hours: You can taste and smell things better.

In Three to Nine Months : You have better circulation. Your lungs are working better.

In One Year : Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease. Your lungs start to function better, lowering your risk of lung infections. Your risk for heart disease is half that of a smoker's.

In Ten Years: Your risk of having a stroke is the same as someone who doesn't smoke.

In Seventeen Years: Your risk of dying from lung cancer is half that of a smoker's. Your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas also decreases.

In Twenty Years: Your risk of heart disease is now the same as someone who doesn't smoke.