1 year after quitting smokingHalf

By Yevhenii, who smoked for 26 years · Updated 30 Oct 2026 · 2 min read

In shortAfter a year without smoking, the NHS puts the risk of a heart attack at about half that of someone who still smokes. Lung cancer risk takes ten years to halve. A year is a good moment for a check-up, so tell the doctor how long you smoked.

What's happening in your body

Coronary heart disease is the largest single way smoking kills, and it is also where the body repays stopping fastest. According to the NHS, after a year without smoking the risk of a heart attack is about half that of someone who still smokes. The US Surgeon General's 1990 report puts it a little differently, as the extra risk that smoking added being cut by about half. The 2020 report describes the same pattern, a fast fall in the first years and a slower decline after that.

What to expect

The remaining dates are far apart. The NHS gives ten years for the risk of dying from lung cancer to fall to about half that of a smoker. The Surgeon General's 1990 report gives fifteen for the risk of coronary heart disease to come close to that of someone who never smoked. They are distant, and they are reached the same way this one was, one ordinary day at a time.

A year is also a good moment for a routine check with a doctor, if you have not had one. Mention that you smoked and for how long, because that history still matters for some screening after you stop.

Try this

Look at the totals on the home screen and at the first page of your Diary.

What else you could do

If someone you know is about to try, tell them about one thing from this year that helped you. The totals keep counting and the evening close keeps recording, for as long as you want them to.

Sources. NHS Better Health, Quit smoking. US Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation, 1990, and Smoking Cessation: a report of the Surgeon General, 2020.