How long since you quit?

How it works

The counter starts at the moment you quit. A day is counted at the same clock time the next day, so the count moves at the time you quit, even across a clock change.

The money is your daily cost (packs a day times the price of a pack, or what you spent a day or a week) times the time you've been quit. Packs hold at least 20 cigarettes by law in the US, UK and EU. If you change the price, the new one counts from then on. It's money you haven't spent, not money in the bank.

For smoking, the trail follows WHO's timeline because it gives a time for every step. The CDC and the American Cancer Society describe the same changes but round some differently: they put carbon monoxide back to normal after a few days, where WHO says 12 hours. These are averages from people who stayed quit, not a forecast for your body. For vaping and drinking we found no agency timeline to cite, so the trail shows round numbers.

A slip doesn't reset anything: the NHS calls one cigarette a lapse, not a relapse. Starting again keeps every earlier attempt. Everything stays in this browser.

Questions people ask

What happens to your body after you quit smoking?

Within 20 minutes your heart rate and blood pressure drop, and after 12 hours the carbon monoxide in your blood is back to normal, according to WHO. Over the following weeks and months circulation, lung function and coughing improve, and after a year the risk of coronary heart disease is about half a smoker's.

Does one cigarette reset my quit?

Not here. The NHS calls a single cigarette or one puff a lapse, not a relapse, so you can log it as a slip and the count carries on. If you've gone back to smoking, Start again keeps your earlier attempts.

How is the money worked out?

Your daily cost times the time you've been quit. For cigarettes that's packs a day times the price of a pack; packs hold at least 20 cigarettes by law in the US, UK and EU. If prices change, the new price counts from then on.

Is it normal to need several tries?

Yes. Smokefree.gov says many people try to quit several times before they quit for good, and a 2016 study put the average at around 30 attempts before success.

Is there a timeline for quitting vaping or drinking?

Not one we can cite. The NHS says nobody knows yet what vaping's long-term effects are, and we found no health agency that publishes a day-by-day timeline for stopping drinking. If you're dependent on alcohol, the NHS warns that stopping suddenly can be very dangerous and to get medical help first.

Sources

1. WHO: Tobacco, health benefits of smoking cessation (2020)
2. CDC: Benefits of quitting smoking (2024)
3. American Cancer Society: Health benefits of quitting smoking over time
4. Smokefree.gov: Managing nicotine withdrawal
5. Smokefree.gov: Get back on track after a setback
6. NHS: Get back on track after a smoking relapse
7. NHS: Vaping to quit smoking
8. NHS: Alcohol misuse, treatment
9. NIAAA: Treatment for alcohol problems
10. Chaiton et al. 2016: estimating the number of quit attempts it takes to quit smoking
11. 21 CFR 1140.16: minimum cigarette package size (US)
12. Directive 2014/40/EU, Article 14: packets of at least 20 cigarettes (EU)
13. The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2015, regulation 4 (UK)