The benefits of quitting are immediate. According to the American Cancer Society, just twenty minutes after quitting, your heart rate and blood pressure drop. Within a few weeks, your blood circulation and lung function improve. Within a few months, the sweeper cells that help clean the lungs, remove mucus, and reduce the risk of infection start to regrow. And within a year of quitting, your smoking-related risk of coronary heart disease becomes half that of current smokers.