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The First 24 Hours After Quitting Smoking
Smoking Cessation Guides
The first 24 hours without cigarettes are the beginning of your body's recovery and the most acute phase of withdrawal. Here is exactly what to expect, hour by hour, and what you can do to get through it.
20 min
Heart Rate Starts Dropping
8 hrs
Blood Oxygen Already Improving
24 hrs
Carbon Monoxide Fully Cleared
Hour by hour
The First 24 Hours After Your Last Cigarette
The first day without smoking is challenging but it is also the day when some of the most rapid improvements begin. Understanding what your body is doing during these hours, and that what you are feeling is temporary and purposeful, makes a significant difference to getting through it.
0-20 min
The immediate changes begin
Within twenty minutes of your last cigarette, heart rate and blood pressure begin to fall toward normal levels. Peripheral circulation starts to improve as nicotine's vasoconstrictive effect diminishes.
2 hrs
Nicotine blood levels halving
Nicotine has a two-hour half-life. Blood nicotine levels are dropping rapidly. The first craving episodes typically appear as nicotine levels fall. Each craving lasts three to five minutes and will pass.
8 hrs
Oxygen levels normalising
Carbon monoxide levels in the blood have halved. Blood oxygen carrying capacity is improving. Many people notice they feel slightly less fatigued by the early evening.
12-16 hrs
Peak craving period for most people
For many people, the evening of the first day is the hardest window. Established smoking habits, after dinner, before bed, with tea, all trigger conditioned cravings. Having a plan for these specific triggers is essential.
24 hrs
Carbon monoxide cleared
By the end of day one, carbon monoxide has been fully cleared from the blood. Blood oxygen is back to normal. The risk of a heart attack has already begun to fall. You have completed the hardest day.
Surviving day one
Practical Tips for Getting Through the First 24 Hours
01
Have a craving response ready before day one
Identify your three or four most common smoking triggers and decide in advance exactly what you will do instead. Have the alternative ready, a walk, a glass of water, a task to start immediately.
02
Tell someone
Social accountability significantly improves cessation success. Telling someone important to you that today is your quit day creates a support structure and an additional motivation to follow through.
03
Remove cigarettes and lighters from the home
Making cigarettes physically unavailable adds friction to relapse during the highest-craving period. If you have to go out to buy cigarettes, the craving may have passed by the time you could act on it.
04
Use a nicotine replacement during day one if needed
NHS-approved NRT or a vape device can take the acute edge off the first day's cravings while the CO clears. Getting through day one without cigarettes is the goal, how you get there matters less than getting there.
Best Vape For Heavy Smokers
Switching to a Vape Kit on Day One Gets Your Body Recovering Immediately
Carbon monoxide clears, blood oxygen improves and your cessation journey begins. Browse our kits designed for heavy smokers.
Find the right starting kit for heavy smokers at our best vape for heavy smokers collection.
From our Cessation Guides
Part of our Smoking Cessation guide
Smoking Cessation Guides
Our Smoking Cessation guide covers every stage of the quitting process, from the first twenty minutes to years of benefits.
Find more quitting timeline guides in our Smoking Cessation guide.
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The First 24 Hours Are the Hardest: The Right Vape Kit Helps.
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