Everything that happens to your body when you decide to quit smoking
We're four days into October, which means that thousands of Brits will still be attempting to refrain from picking up a cigarette as part of the annual campaign to quit smoking.
'Stoptober' - as it's more commonly known - doesn't just give smokers bragging rights and a proud mentality if they're successfully able to complete the whole month, however.
No, apparently, quitting smoking has countless benefits - not only to your mind, but to your body.
Here's everything you could experience physically in the months after managing to kick the harmful habit for good - and, spoiler, some of the side effects you'll observe just minutes into throwing away your last ciggie.
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Pulse and blood pressure drop
According to experts at Web MD, just over half an hour after finishing your final cigarette, both your heart rate and your blood pressure will reduce back to healthy levels.
While both are vital for a healthy body, high blood pressure is known for taking the lives of millions of smokers each year, and has even been branded by medics as 'the silent killer' due to its affiliation with heart attacks and stroke.
Carbon Monoxide disappears
Apparently, just half a day without smoking will reduce the amount of toxic chemicals - namely carbon monoxide - floating around within your blood, which usually causes symptoms like a headache, faster pulse, dizziness, or nausea.
Quitting smoking leave more room for oxygen to get to your organs.
Heart attack risk decreases
As we say, high blood pressure caused by smoking can lead to heart attacks - in fact, the habit is the top cause of cardiac arrests.
It only takes one day of non-smoking to reduce your risk by half, however.
I like those odds.
Your taste and smell comes back
Any long-term smoker will tell you, one of the most tragic effects of the habit is that it can kill both your tastebuds, and the cells used in order to smell.
This can make fancy meals pretty bleak occasions for those with a cigarette dependancy.
Thankfully, however, these cells grow back super quickly once you've packed in smoking, sometimes in as little as 48 hours.
Breathing becomes easier
Within 72 hours of your last inhale, the tubes in your body that are used for breathing slowly start to unblock, making it easier to breathe.
This could also result in an energy surge, being that your organs are getting larger access to the oxygen they need.
Blood circulation improves
Between two and 12 weeks of having quit smoking, you'll notice a greater improvement in your mobility in general.
Not only might your hands and feet start warming up, but your limbs will likely fee more active - again, due to oxygen having better access to flow through your blood.
Lung function increases
Within nine months of cutting out cigarettes, experts say you'll undoubtedly notice a huge improvement in your breathing.
You'll likely stop coughing as much as you do now, because the tiny, hair-like structures within your lungs - which become damaged by toxic chemicals - will start growing back.
In fact, medics saw your lung function in general could increase by as much as 10 per cent in less than a year - insane!
Heart health
It's not just your lungs that will see the almighty benefit to quitting smoking within a year, but your heart.
Your lovely blood pumper's risk of disease or damage will be halved within as little as 12 months.
Cancer risk reduces
It's hardly a surprise anymore that smoking causes cancer.
So, by cutting out this harmful habit, the risk of being diagnosed with certain strains of the disease - primarily mouth, throat, oesophageal, cervical and bladder - will plummet.
Stroke risk also decreases
As mentioned earlier, high blood pressure caused by smoking can cause blood clots to form quickly, which can result in a stoke.
After as little as five years smoke-free, however, your risk of a stroke could fall to that of a non-smoker.
Lung cancer risk reduces
You may have noticed that while discussing cancer earlier, the lung strain of the disease was omitted from the list.
Worry not, however, as some things simply take longer than others.
It takes a decade for the risk if lung cancer to be reduced to that of a non-smoker, which might seem like a long time, but will absolutely be worth it.
Heart disease risk decreases
And last but not least, 15 years after quitting smoking, doctors say your risk of being diagnosed with heart disease will drop to that of an individual who's never picked up a cigarette in their life.
Rhianna Benson