Who wants to be labeled a quitter? You Do! When you quit smoking that is. The dangers of smoking only increase with age, so here’s a quick look at the bright side of butting out for good.

These benefits start to take effect much sooner that you think, according to the American Cancer Society:

• Within 20 minutes of your last cigarette, your blood pressure and heart rate decline
• Within 12 hours, the level of poisonous carbon monoxide in your body has returned to normal
• Over the next few months, your lungs will regain their ability to remove pollutants efficiently, thereby reducing your risk of infection
• Your ability to taste and smell will improve
• Chronic sinus congestion should disappear
• Within a year, your risk of heart disease should be about half of a smoker's
• Within a decade, your risk of dying from lung cancer will have dropped by half

Your reward for breaking the habit? A longer, healthier life. And no more lingering smoky smell.