“I quit smoking, will my lungs heal?”
I quit smoking (10 years)! I'm proud of my accomplishment, but I am worried about the damage to my lungs. Will they heal?
3 Answers
Once you have done damage to your lungs, unfortunately there is no going back. There is usually some immediate improvement from your baseline when you quit but after about six months the lung function will stabilize. The risk of lung cancer goes down and back to that of a non smoker within about 10 years from the currently available data.
Congratulations. Some damage may have already been done depending on how long & how much you smoked before quitting. The lungs can't really "heal" if there is emphysema but you will no longer subject them to further damage
Anil Rickhi
Emergency Physician
Congratulations on quitting. You should feel proud of yourself.
To answer your question, YES. Studies show that depending on how much you smoked, your lungs do repair themselves. Infact, within the first week, there are notable changes in taste, fatigue and changes in mood, after you get over the withdrawal period.
Again depending on how much you smoked at 10 years, your risk of lung cancer essentially drops to the baseline of someone who has not smoked.
To answer your question, YES. Studies show that depending on how much you smoked, your lungs do repair themselves. Infact, within the first week, there are notable changes in taste, fatigue and changes in mood, after you get over the withdrawal period.
Again depending on how much you smoked at 10 years, your risk of lung cancer essentially drops to the baseline of someone who has not smoked.
