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Ask the Educator - Benefits of Quitting Smoking

January 2010

QUESTION: I’ve been trying to find some information on the Internet regarding the nicotine patches but can’t seem to find what I'm looking for. I thought perhaps The Lung Association might have the answer.

I found a timetable of benefits when quitting smoking such as blood pressure dropping after 20 minutes, then one hour, one day, etc, and then after a couple weeks, circulation gets better. My question is: Do any of these benefits start for those of us on the nicotine patch or is it only when we are finished using the patches that we then start to benefit?

I have just started using the patches and after one day of using them, I notice when taking a deep breath, my lungs seem to feel clearer so was just wondering.

ANSWER: Thank you for your great question. The benefits of quitting start to occur as soon as you stop smoking. The harmful aspect of a cigarette is not the nicotine, but the 4,000 other poisons that are inhaled when you smoke.

Nicotine is the addicting part. The patch is a clean way of getting nicotine into your system because of the absence of the other harmful poisons in a cigarette. Nicotine replacement therapy is also not as addicting as it is via a cigarette as it takes longer for the nicotine to reach your brain than it does when you inhale it.

To order the free booklet “Making Quit Happen” or to speak with a certified respiratory educator, please call The Lung Association’s Asthma Action™ Helpline at 1-888-344-LUNG (5864). Click here to download the booklet.

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