From Terry Martin,
Your Guide to Smoking Cessation.
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The benefits of quitting smoking are just beginning.

Between 2 weeks and 3 months:

• circulation improves
• walking becomes easier
• lung function increases

The worst of nicotine withdrawal symptoms subside within the first month. Following that, the focus shifts to learning how to decipher and reprogram the psychological tugs or urges to smoke that we've all built up over the years.

Knowledge is Power

Education is a necessary part of a successful quit smoking program. Why? Because when you know what to expect as you move through the process of recovery from nicotine addiction, you'll find you are equipped to maneuver the bumps in the road without losing your balance.

Devote yourself to learning all you can about nicotine addiction, as well as what to expect as you go through the process of quitting tobacco. It will empower you!

Healing Your Mind:

• Junkie Thinking and Your Smobriety
  "I can smoke just one! Just for this evening, I'll smoke, and then I'm back to my quit tomorrow! Really!" Sound familiar? Thoughts of smoking are common as you go through nicotine withdrawal. Your mind can feel like it's turning itself inside out trying to convince you to have just one cigarette. Don't let it throw you; this is a normal part of recovery from nicotine addiction.

• Rationalizations for Smoking
  Thoughts of smoking can creep in and throw you off balance if you're not prepared for them. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons people break down and light up that first cigarette is due to junkie thinking. How do you defeat those tempting thoughts to have just one?

• 4 Steps to Defeat the Urge to Smoke
  When we first quit, the urge to smoke a cigarette can be overwhelming. Take some time to learn how to decipher what your body is trying to signal, and making better choices will be easier.

• The Icky Threes
  The icky threes is a term that comes up over and over again at the support forum here at About.com Smoking Cessation. It refers to particular phases of a person's quit program that can be bumpy and uncomfortable.

Quit Smoking Benefits: 1 to 9 Months

<sub>Source:

2004 Surgeon General's Report: Poster: Within 20 Minutes of Quitting 27 May 2004. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</sub>