A new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association looks at women in the period right after quitting and for several years afterwards.

The good news?  By quitting smoking now, you can see immediate health gains in your cardiovascular health and more.

The bad? It can take up to 20 years to completely reverse the damage to your lungs and associated risks… so the sooner you quit, the better!

I used to be a smoker. In hindsight, quitting was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done.

That’s not to say I didn’t try several times before it finally “stuck,” but it’s pretty amazing how little it impacts my life now that I’ve just done it. (Granted, now I have to deal with the stress of being one of ‘those people’ who can’t sit near the door of a bar or walk through a crowd of smokers for the annoyance.)

I don’t really have many tips to offer, unfortunately. Years back, I tried the gums and lozenges to no avail– all they did was remind me that I wasn’t smoking. I was never a die-hard addict, though, so fortunately I just had triggers related to boredom and social situations to overcome.

How I finally quit once and for all? I started dating someone who didn’t smoke and it was more important to me to spend time with him than it was to be outside puffing away and/or coming home at the end of the night being self-conscious because I reeked like an ashtray. I often joke that maybe I should rent him out to people who want to quit smoking… but I think everyone probably has someone in their life whose opinion is important enough to serve as encouragement.

While I’m lacking short-term coping tips, the internet is swimming with them. The only message I can send back from “the other side”– and I really can’t emphasis it enough– is that the sooner you do it, the happier you’ll be.  You really will be surprised how easy it was.