Answers to the Common Questions on Smoking and the Heart
Smoking and the Heart: straight answers to the questions people actually ask, with the figures behind them.
How tobacco damages blood vessels, and what changes when you stop.
Key takeaways
- Most effective approach: stop smoking medicine plus behavioural support
- Effect of local NHS services: roughly triples the chance of success
- Most useful single change: Use a local NHS stop smoking service; it is free and the strongest single factor.
- Commonest mistake: Relying on willpower alone, which has the lowest success rate.
- See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.
What is Smoking and the Heart?
How tobacco damages blood vessels, and what changes when you stop.
Why does it matter?
Cardiovascular risk begins falling within days of stopping and keeps falling for years, at any age you stop.
Most effective approach for Smoking and the Heart?
Stop smoking medicine plus behavioural support.
Effect of local NHS services for Smoking and the Heart?
Roughly triples the chance of success.
Carbon monoxide cleared for Smoking and the Heart?
Within about 48 hours.
Coronary risk after about 1 year for Smoking and the Heart?
Roughly halved versus continuing.
What is the single most useful thing to do?
Use a local NHS stop smoking service; it is free and the strongest single factor.
What is the most common mistake?
Relying on willpower alone, which has the lowest success rate.
When should I see a doctor?
Speak to a GP or pharmacist about stop smoking medication, particularly if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or take medicines whose levels change when you stop, such as clozapine or theophylline. See a GP for a cough lasting more than three weeks or coughing up blood. Call 999 for chest pain.
Where to go next
- A Working Checklist for Smoking and the Heart
- Smoking and the Heart: Separating Myth From Guidance
- Smoking and the Heart — the reference entry
- The Evidence on Alcohol and the Heart, Without the Hype
- Atrial Fibrillation: What the Evidence Actually Says
When to speak to a doctor
Speak to a GP or pharmacist about stop smoking medication, particularly if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or take medicines whose levels change when you stop, such as clozapine or theophylline. See a GP for a cough lasting more than three weeks or coughing up blood. Call 999 for chest pain.
Where this comes from
How this page was put together
Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.
Medical disclaimer
This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.
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