Here's what happens to your body if you stop smoking immediately

The benefits are almost instant; as soon as a person stops smoking their body begins to recover. Find out how quick it is.

In as little as 20 minutes after the last cigarette is smoked, the heart rate drops and returns to normal. Blood pressure begins to drop, and circulation may start to improve, your pulse will start to drop, and you’ll notice your hands and feet starting to warm up.

After only eight hours, the oxygen levels in your blood will increase. Cigarettes contain a lot of known toxins including carbon monoxide, a gas present in cigarette smoke.

This gas can be harmful or fatal in high doses and prevents oxygen from entering the lungs and blood. When inhaled in large doses in a short time, suffocation can occur from lack of oxygen.

After your first eight hours without a cigarette, the body cleanses itself of the excess carbon monoxide from the cigarettes. The carbon monoxide level returns to normal, increasing the body's oxygen levels.

After just two days there is no nicotine left in your body, and your senses of smell and taste will have started to improve dramatically. After three days, you should start to feel more energized and your breathing will become easier.

Within around three months your circulation will have improved, and any cough or wheezing should have mostly cleared up. Compared to when you were smoking, your lung function should have increased by around 10 percent.

Along with lung function improving, the risk of heart attack risk will start to drop too. So, climbing the stairs will get a little bit easier each day, as will be walking long distances.

By this time, any bad coughs should have disappeared but, if not, being seen by a doctor is imperative as it can be a sign of something more sinister.

Now is the time to rip off the Band-Aid. Quitting smoking can really suck in the beginning and people may not realize how addictive nicotine is until they stop using it. If you're quitting smoking cold turkey, it may be a tough time, but just try to do the best you can.

Physical symptoms of withdrawal include headaches, dizziness from a drop in blood pressure and heart rate, fatigue, hunger, nausea, and coughing. You may also have an increased appetite and have some trouble sleeping.

All of these symptoms subside over time, usually sometime between a few weeks to nine months, depending on how much and how long you've been smoking. The sooner you quit, the less likely you'll be to have to deal with these issues again.