turvie

Sources

Every source, linked.

Each improvement in Turvie says where it comes from. These are all 120 sources behind them, with 186 links. Every link was opened and checked against the line it supports in November 2026.

Turvie is here to support you, not to replace your doctor. Check with a doctor as well as using the app, and before making medical decisions.

How each card is labelled

Measured in a studyA study measured it
Health guidanceFrom a public health body
From how the body worksWell-known physiology
Linked in studiesSeen together, not proven cause
Several sourcesMore than one kind of source
Your numbersWorked out from what you entered
Some people notice thisCommon, not universal
A checkpointA point to pause, not a body change
120 sources

Almirall and colleagues, 2014 review, citing Nuorti and colleagues, NEJM, 2000

Smoking
Community-acquired pneumonia among smokersPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 11 yearsTen years after quitting, the risk of invasive pneumococcal disease, a serious bacterial infection, becomes the same as a nonsmoker's, a review of the research reports.Measured in a study · Smoking
Cigarette smoking and invasive pneumococcal diseasePubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 11 yearsTen years after quitting, the risk of invasive pneumococcal disease, a serious bacterial infection, becomes the same as a nonsmoker's, a review of the research reports.Measured in a study · Smoking

Almirall and colleagues, Archivos de Bronconeumología, 2014 (review)

Smoking
Community-acquired pneumonia among smokersPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 45 monthsYour lungs fight infection better. A review of pneumonia in smokers reports that the extra risk smoking adds falls after quitting, by about half after 5 years.Measured in a study · Smoking

American Academy of Dermatology

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Nail fungus: Diagnosis and treatmentaad.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 6 monthsYour fingernails have fully replaced themselves. A whole fingernail takes about 6 months to grow, so every nail you have now grew without smoke.From how the body works · Smoking
11 ways to reduce premature skin agingaad.org
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 130 daysSmoking contributes to skin ageing and slow healing. Stopping removes that ongoing push, and sunscreen and gentle care help protect what you're gaining.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking
  • 5 daysYou've stopped adding fresh smoke exposure every day. A simple routine helps your skin whatever else is going on. Comfortable skin is the goal, not a big makeover.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 22 daysLess smoke, steadier meals and moving more all favour a healthier-looking face, even when no single change is dramatic. Nobody can put a number of years on it, so notice how you feel too.From how the body works · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Teaching your child healthy nail careaad.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 13 daysNew nail grows from the base and moves out slowly, so changes in your health show there first, not at the tips.From how the body works · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Does drinking cause rosacea?aad.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 19 daysIf alcohol made your face flush, it may look calmer now. Rosacea and small visible blood vessels can stay and may need treatment, and a red face isn't proof of drinking: many people with rosacea don't drink.Some people notice this · Alcohol
Triggers could be causing your rosacea flare-upsaad.org
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 19 daysIf alcohol made your face flush, it may look calmer now. Rosacea and small visible blood vessels can stay and may need treatment, and a red face isn't proof of drinking: many people with rosacea don't drink.Some people notice this · Alcohol
  • 130 daysSmoking contributes to skin ageing and slow healing. Stopping removes that ongoing push, and sunscreen and gentle care help protect what you're gaining.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking
  • 5 daysYou've stopped adding fresh smoke exposure every day. A simple routine helps your skin whatever else is going on. Comfortable skin is the goal, not a big makeover.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Lasers and lights: How well do they treat rosacea?aad.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 19 daysIf alcohol made your face flush, it may look calmer now. Rosacea and small visible blood vessels can stay and may need treatment, and a red face isn't proof of drinking: many people with rosacea don't drink.Some people notice this · Alcohol
10 skin care secrets for healthier-looking skinaad.org
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 130 daysSmoking contributes to skin ageing and slow healing. Stopping removes that ongoing push, and sunscreen and gentle care help protect what you're gaining.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking
  • 5 daysYou've stopped adding fresh smoke exposure every day. A simple routine helps your skin whatever else is going on. Comfortable skin is the goal, not a big makeover.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Skin care in your 40s and 50saad.org
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 130 daysSmoking contributes to skin ageing and slow healing. Stopping removes that ongoing push, and sunscreen and gentle care help protect what you're gaining.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking
  • 5 daysYou've stopped adding fresh smoke exposure every day. A simple routine helps your skin whatever else is going on. Comfortable skin is the goal, not a big makeover.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 22 daysLess smoke, steadier meals and moving more all favour a healthier-looking face, even when no single change is dramatic. Nobody can put a number of years on it, so notice how you feel too.From how the body works · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Hair loss: who gets it and causesaad.org
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 32 weeksHair has many causes of thinning, and fullness can take months to return after a stressor eases. If drinking or smoking was part of a broader strain on your health, removing it may help future growth, though it isn't a promise of thicker hair.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 12 daysIf poor nutrition or smoking was holding your hair back, better habits can help the hair that grows from now on. Any change shows slowly, as new hair grows.From how the body works · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Hair loss: tips for managingaad.org
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 32 weeksHair has many causes of thinning, and fullness can take months to return after a stressor eases. If drinking or smoking was part of a broader strain on your health, removing it may help future growth, though it isn't a promise of thicker hair.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 12 daysIf poor nutrition or smoking was holding your hair back, better habits can help the hair that grows from now on. Any change shows slowly, as new hair grows.From how the body works · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping

American Cancer Society

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Health Benefits of Quitting Smoking Over Timecancer.org
What it backs in the app (10)
  • 9 monthsCoughing and shortness of breath have dropped, and the tiny hairs that sweep mucus out of your lungs have been regaining their normal function. Your lungs are clearing themselves the way they were built to.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 6 monthsCoughing and shortness of breath keep easing, and between 3 and 9 months lung function can rise by up to 10%.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 14 monthsYou're in the stretch, 1 to 2 years after quitting, when the risk of a heart attack drops sharply compared with carrying on smoking.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 15 yearsYour risk of coronary heart disease is now close to that of a non-smoker.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 10 yearsYour risk of lung cancer is about half that of someone who still smokes, and your risk of bladder, esophagus and kidney cancer keeps falling.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 25 daysNo new smoke stains are going onto your nails. The old yellow part grows out with the nail, a little more each week.From how the body works · Smoking
  • 5 yearsFrom 5 to 10 years, your stroke risk falls toward a non-smoker's, and your added risk of mouth, throat and voice-box cancers drops by half. Quitting lowers the risk of 12 different cancers.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 20 yearsTwenty years. Your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box and pancreas drops close to that of someone who does not smoke.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking
  • 14 weeksBreathing symptoms often improve during the first year after quitting smoking, and easier breathing can make regular movement easier to keep up.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 4 daysWash the smoke smell out of your clothes, bedding and car, and it stays out. It's a change you can notice long before any change in your skin or hair.A checkpoint · Smoking
How Your Body Recovers After Quitting Smoking, 2020 flyercancer.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 9 monthsCoughing and shortness of breath have dropped, and the tiny hairs that sweep mucus out of your lungs have been regaining their normal function. Your lungs are clearing themselves the way they were built to.Health guidance · Smoking
Reasons to quit smokingcancer.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 5 daysYou've stopped adding fresh smoke exposure every day. A simple routine helps your skin whatever else is going on. Comfortable skin is the goal, not a big makeover.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping

American Lung Association

AlcoholSmoking
Understanding Mucus in Your Lungslung.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 6 daysCough or mucus can change after quitting. As the tiny hairs that sweep your airways work better, clearing can become more noticeable. Not everyone gets this, and more coughing doesn't mean more healing. A cough that gets worse, blood when you cough, fever, chest pain or more breathlessness needs checking by a doctor.Health guidance · Smoking
Warning Signs of Lung Diseaselung.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 6 daysCough or mucus can change after quitting. As the tiny hairs that sweep your airways work better, clearing can become more noticeable. Not everyone gets this, and more coughing doesn't mean more healing. A cough that gets worse, blood when you cough, fever, chest pain or more breathlessness needs checking by a doctor.Health guidance · Smoking
Benefits of Quittinglung.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 1 yearYour added risk of coronary heart disease is now about half that of someone who still smokes.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking

Angarita and colleagues, Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 2016 (review)

Alcohol
Sleep abnormalities associated with alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, and opiate use: a comprehensive reviewlink.springer.com
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 20 monthsDeep sleep keeps coming back. In people recovering from alcohol dependence, deep sleep recovers with long abstinence: within about a year for some, while other studies found full recovery took 1 to 4 years.Measured in a study · Alcohol
  • 14 monthsYour sleep keeps lengthening. In a sleep-lab study of people recovering from alcohol dependence, nightly sleep grew from 312 minutes at 19 weeks without alcohol to 335 at 14 months and 349 at 27 months.Measured in a study · Alcohol

Aune and colleagues, Scientific Reports, 2018 (meta-analysis)

Smoking
Tobacco smoking and the risk of abdominal aortic aneurysmPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 25 yearsTwenty-five years. The risk of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a dangerous swelling of the body's main artery, falls with each decade without smoking, and by 25 years it was similar to a never smoker's.Measured in a study · Smoking

Australian Government health department

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Health benefits (Don't make smokes your story)health.gov.au
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 2 yearsTwo years. Between 2 and 5 years after quitting, your risk of heart attack and stroke drops a lot, and it keeps falling slowly after that. Keep the habits that made it work, and give your gains a job.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping

Bardou-Jacquet and colleagues, World Journal of Gastroenterology, 2013, 37 people

Alcohol
Effect of alcohol consumption on liver stiffness measured by transient elastographywjgnet.com
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 19 monthsLiver scarring can keep easing. In a small study of people with alcohol-related liver disease, liver stiffness, a sign of scarring, fell in 85% of those who stayed abstinent, and the longer they stayed off alcohol, the more it fell.Measured in a study · Alcohol

Bloomberg and colleagues, The Lancet Healthy Longevity, 2025, 9,436 adults, reported by UCL

AlcoholSmokingVaping
UCL news: Quitting smoking even in late life linked to slower cognitive declineucl.ac.uk
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 6 yearsSix years. In 9,436 adults aged 40 and over, memory and verbal fluency declined more slowly in the six years after quitting than in people who kept smoking: the decline in fluency roughly halved, and memory decline slowed by 20%.Measured in a study · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Cognitive decline before and after mid-to-late-life smoking cessationPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 6 yearsSix years. In 9,436 adults aged 40 and over, memory and verbal fluency declined more slowly in the six years after quitting than in people who kept smoking: the decline in fluency roughly halved, and memory decline slowed by 20%.Measured in a study · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping

CDC

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Within 20 Minutes of Quitting, 2004 Surgeon General posterarchive.cdc.gov
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 3 monthsYour lung function has been rising since week two, and your circulation has improved.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 2 weeksYour circulation is improving and your lung function has started to rise, so walking and running get easier. Your heart attack risk has begun to drop.Health guidance · Smoking
Benefits of Quitting Smokingcdc.gov
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 9 monthsCoughing and shortness of breath have dropped, and the tiny hairs that sweep mucus out of your lungs have been regaining their normal function. Your lungs are clearing themselves the way they were built to.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 15 yearsYour risk of coronary heart disease is now close to that of a non-smoker.Health guidance · Smoking
Smoking, Gum Disease, and Tooth Losscdc.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 72 hoursBlood is flowing back into your gums. In a study of 16 smokers, gum blood flow was significantly higher 3 days after quitting, and the CDC says quitting helps gums heal after treatment. The US National Cancer Institute's quit site says quitting makes teeth brighter and gums healthier.Several sources · Smoking
Vaping and Quittingcdc.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 4 weeksNicotine withdrawal's trouble sleeping, poor focus, anxiety and restlessness peak in the first week and last 2 to 4 weeks. That was measured in people quitting cigarettes, and the CDC says quitting vaping is likely similar because both involve nicotine.Several sources · Vaping
7 common withdrawal symptomscdc.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 16 daysNicotine withdrawal can make you hungrier. Regular meals work better than a strict diet right now.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping

CDC, 7 Common Withdrawal Symptoms

Smoking
7 Common Withdrawal Symptomscdc.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 9 daysYour usual coffee may hit harder now: after you stop smoking, caffeine lasts longer in your body. If you feel jittery or sleep badly, try less caffeine, and none late in the day.Health guidance · Smoking

CDC, Benefits of Quitting Smoking

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Benefits of Quitting Smokingcdc.gov
What it backs in the app (5)
  • 3 yearsYou're now in the 3 to 6 year stretch in which, by the CDC's count, the extra heart disease risk smoking added drops by half. The WHO says that a year after quitting your heart disease risk is already about half a smoker's, so the change is well under way. Three years of ordinary life without the old routine.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 14 monthsYou're in the stretch, 1 to 2 years after quitting, when the risk of a heart attack drops sharply compared with carrying on smoking.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 24 hoursIf you're not using patches, gum or other nicotine, the nicotine in your blood has fallen to zero. Cravings can outlast it, but the nicotine itself is gone.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 20 yearsTwenty years. Your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box and pancreas drops close to that of someone who does not smoke.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking
  • 14 weeksBreathing symptoms often improve during the first year after quitting smoking, and easier breathing can make regular movement easier to keep up.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping

CDC, Health Effects of Vaping

Vaping
Health Effects of Vapingcdc.gov
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 20 minutesNothing more is going in. Vape aerosol isn't just water vapour: depending on the product it can carry nicotine, fine particles, metals and other chemicals, and none of it has reached your airways since your last puff.Health guidance · Vaping
  • 3 daysWith no aerosol going in, a dry or scratchy throat gets a chance to settle. There's no set date for a vaper's lungs to recover, so go by how you feel.Some people notice this · Vaping

CDC, Vaping and Quitting

Vaping
Vaping and Quittingcdc.gov
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 12 weeksAlmost three months without aerosol going into your lungs, and without the device routine. There's no reliable rule for when any vaping-related irritation is fully gone, but every week without it counts.A checkpoint · Vaping
  • 1 yearA year without aerosol going into your lungs is a clear accomplishment. There's no reliable figure yet for how much one year without vaping lowers long-term risks, but a year of nothing new going in is yours.Health guidance · Vaping
  • 9 monthsNine months without vaping is a long stretch. How much it lowers long-term risk is still uncertain, but it's nine months of nothing new going in.A checkpoint · Vaping

Cediel and colleagues, European Heart Journal (conference abstract), 2022, 122 people

Alcohol
Alcohol abstinence vs. persistent alcohol consumption in alcoholic cardiomyopathy: impact on long-term prognosisacademic.oup.com
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 15 monthsA weakened heart can recover. In people whose heart muscle had been damaged by heavy drinking, its pumping strength rose from about 28% to 47% after a year without alcohol, and to 49% at 3 years. In those who kept drinking it reached about 40%.Measured in a study · Alcohol

Cho and colleagues, NEJM Evidence, 2024, 1.48 million adults

Smoking
Smoking Cessation and Short- and Longer-Term MortalityPubMed
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 3 yearsThree years. In 1.48 million adults followed for 15 years, the benefits of quitting were clear within 3 years, and quitting for less than 3 years was estimated to avoid about 5 years of lost life, compared with carrying on smoking.Measured in a study · Smoking
  • 4 monthsThe damage reverses. In a 2024 study of 1.5 million people, those who quit got about half the benefit back within 3 years and came close to a never-smoker's survival within 10. Quit before 40 and you can expect to live nearly as long as someone who never smoked.Measured in a study · Smoking
  • 10 yearsIn 1.48 million adults, quitting for 10 or more years was estimated to avoid about 10 years of lost life, giving survival similar to people who never smoked.Measured in a study · Smoking

Choi and colleagues, Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, 2018, 46,140 men

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Effect of smoking cessation on the risk of dementiaPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 4 yearsFour years. In a study of 46,140 men aged 60 and over, those who had quit for 4 or more years had a lower risk of dementia than men who kept smoking.Measured in a study · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping

Chéruel and colleagues, 2017, 24 people

Smoking
Effect of cigarette smoke on gustatory sensitivityPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 2 weeksYour taste buds are waking up. In a study of 24 people who quit, taste sensitivity began coming back at 2 weeks.Measured in a study · Smoking

Cochrane, 2021

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Does stopping smoking improve mental health?cochrane.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 23 weeksQuitting smoking is linked to better mental wellbeing over time, with less anxiety, depression and stress.Measured in a study · Alcohol, Smoking
Full review in the Cochrane Librarydoi.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 23 weeksQuitting smoking is linked to better mental wellbeing over time, with less anxiety, depression and stress.Measured in a study · Alcohol, Smoking

Curtin University and UNSW researchers

AlcoholSmoking
Even a day off alcohol makes a difference: our timeline maps the health benefits when you stop drinking (Nicole Lee, Curtin; Katinka van de Ven, UNSW)unsw.edu.au
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 6 monthsFor moderate drinkers, liver damage can be fully reversed by now, and the immune system is stronger.Health guidance · Alcohol
  • 24 hoursAlcohol has left your system. Hydration, digestion and blood sugar start to settle.Health guidance · Alcohol
  • 1 weekSleep quality improves. For people with only mild liver damage, the liver starts reducing fat and healing.Health guidance · Alcohol

DermNet

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Smoking and its effects on the skindermnetnz.org
What it backs in the app (4)
  • 8 daysSmoke damages blood vessels and gets in the way of oxygen delivery. With it gone, the living tissue that makes your skin, hair and nails gets better support. That's a reason to be hopeful about how you'll look over time, not a promise of a change this week.From how the body works · Smoking
  • 130 daysSmoking contributes to skin ageing and slow healing. Stopping removes that ongoing push, and sunscreen and gentle care help protect what you're gaining.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking
  • 5 daysYou've stopped adding fresh smoke exposure every day. A simple routine helps your skin whatever else is going on. Comfortable skin is the goal, not a big makeover.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 22 daysLess smoke, steadier meals and moving more all favour a healthier-looking face, even when no single change is dramatic. Nobody can put a number of years on it, so notice how you feel too.From how the body works · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Alcohol and the skindermnetnz.org
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 130 daysSmoking contributes to skin ageing and slow healing. Stopping removes that ongoing push, and sunscreen and gentle care help protect what you're gaining.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking
  • 5 daysYou've stopped adding fresh smoke exposure every day. A simple routine helps your skin whatever else is going on. Comfortable skin is the goal, not a big makeover.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 22 daysLess smoke, steadier meals and moving more all favour a healthier-looking face, even when no single change is dramatic. Nobody can put a number of years on it, so notice how you feel too.From how the body works · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Skin ageingdermnetnz.org
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 130 daysSmoking contributes to skin ageing and slow healing. Stopping removes that ongoing push, and sunscreen and gentle care help protect what you're gaining.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking
  • 5 daysYou've stopped adding fresh smoke exposure every day. A simple routine helps your skin whatever else is going on. Comfortable skin is the goal, not a big makeover.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 22 daysLess smoke, steadier meals and moving more all favour a healthier-looking face, even when no single change is dramatic. Nobody can put a number of years on it, so notice how you feel too.From how the body works · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping

Duncan and colleagues, JAMA, 2019, 8,770 people (Framingham Heart Study)

Smoking
Association of Smoking Cessation With Subsequent Risk of Cardiovascular DiseasePubMed
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 42 monthsIn the Framingham Heart Study, heavy smokers who quit had a significantly lower risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure or death from heart or blood vessel disease within 5 years than those who kept smoking.Measured in a study · Smoking
  • 12 yearsIn the Framingham Heart Study, between 10 and 15 years after quitting, the risk of heart and circulation disease was no longer significantly higher than a never smoker's.Measured in a study · Smoking

Fama and colleagues, Alcohol Research: Current Reviews (NIAAA), 2020

Alcohol
Alcohol's Unique Effects on Cognition in Women: A 2020 (Re)viewarcr.niaaa.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 42 monthsMemory keeps recovering. Women recovering from alcohol use disorder, tested again 3 to 6 years later, had recovered their short-term memory for images and their speed of movement. Balance problems could remain.Measured in a study · Alcohol

Fein and McGillivray, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2007, 91 people

Alcohol
Cognitive Performance in Long-Term Abstinent Elderly Alcoholicsweber.edu
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 15 yearsFifteen years. In older adults sober for about 15 years after an alcohol use disorder, thinking tests came out much like their peers'. And in the recovery survey of 2,002 adults, quality of life appeared to reach normal levels at around 15 years.Several sources · Alcohol

Health Canada

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Risks of vapingcanada.ca
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 12 weeksAlmost three months without aerosol going into your lungs, and without the device routine. There's no reliable rule for when any vaping-related irritation is fully gone, but every week without it counts.A checkpoint · Vaping
  • 17 daysIf the aerosol was drying your mouth, scratching your throat or making you cough, those may be settling by now. It's useful evidence about you, though there's no set recovery time for everyone.Some people notice this · Vaping
Quitting vapingcanada.ca
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 11 daysNicotine withdrawal can disturb sleep for a while too, and a steady routine helps.Some people notice this · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 18 daysA hard evening can still come after easier days. Learned cues, like a place or a feeling, fade more slowly than the nicotine did.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Quit with confidence: after you quitcanada.ca
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 11 daysNicotine withdrawal can disturb sleep for a while too, and a steady routine helps.Some people notice this · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 18 daysA hard evening can still come after easier days. Learned cues, like a place or a feeling, fade more slowly than the nicotine did.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping

Health Canada, 2026

Vaping
Risks of vapingcanada.ca
What it backs in the app (2)
  • What vaping leaves behindMetals such as nickel and lead, likely from the heating coils. · Vaping
  • What vaping leaves behindFormaldehyde and acetaldehyde, which can form when e-liquid gets very hot. · Vaping

Health Canada, Quitting vaping

Vaping
Quitting vapingcanada.ca
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 15 monthsAn old urge can still turn up now and then. If one does, it's brief: Health Canada says a craving lasts only a few minutes if you ride it out.Health guidance · Vaping

Hillbom and Wennberg, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1984, 10 men

Alcohol
Prognosis of alcoholic peripheral neuropathyjnnp.bmj.com
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 40 monthsNerves can heal. In a small study of men with alcohol-related nerve damage in their limbs, seven of ten had normal or nearly normal nerve tests 3 to 5 years later. All seven had stopped drinking.Measured in a study · Alcohol

Hu and colleagues, NEJM, 2018, three US cohorts

Smoking
Smoking Cessation, Weight Change, Type 2 Diabetes, and MortalityPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 15 monthsOne risk can rise for a while after quitting, and it follows weight. In three large US cohorts, recent quitters had a higher risk of type 2 diabetes than people who kept smoking, in proportion to the weight they gained, peaking 5 to 7 years after quitting. Quitters who didn't gain weight had no rise, and quitters had no rise in their risk of dying, whatever their weight did.Measured in a study · Smoking

Hu and colleagues, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2019, 50,195 workers in Japan

Smoking
Smoking, Smoking Cessation, and the Risk of Hearing LossPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 23 monthsYour hearing is better protected. In a study of 50,195 workers in Japan, the risk of hearing loss fell after quitting, even in people who had quit less than 5 years before, and quitting virtually removed the extra risk smoking had added.Measured in a study · Smoking

Hughes and colleagues, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2020, 109 vapers

Vaping
Withdrawal symptoms from e-cigarette abstinence among former smokersPubMed Central
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 1 weekYour resting heart rate is settling. In a 2020 study of 109 daily vapers asked to stop for a week, heart rate fell from about 77 to about 71 beats a minute. Their withdrawal rose, peaked and began to ease within that same week.Measured in a study · Vaping

Hughes, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2007, measured in people quitting cigarettes

Vaping
Effects of abstinence from tobacco: valid symptoms and time coursePubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 4 weeksNicotine withdrawal's trouble sleeping, poor focus, anxiety and restlessness peak in the first week and last 2 to 4 weeks. That was measured in people quitting cigarettes, and the CDC says quitting vaping is likely similar because both involve nicotine.Several sources · Vaping

IARC (WHO), Handbook 20A

AlcoholSmokingVaping
IARC Handbooks Volume 20A: Reduction or Cessation of Alcohol Consumption, questions and answersiarc.who.int
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 16 monthsYour cells are under less strain. The WHO's cancer agency found that after long-term heavy drinking stops, DNA damage in blood cells goes down over a few months to several years.Health guidance · Alcohol
IARC Handbooks Volume 20A (see Section 4, Summary: risk by years since stopping)publications.iarc.who.int
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 8 yearsFive to ten years after stopping, esophageal cancer risk was about 15% lower than in people who kept drinking (RR 0.85), the WHO's cancer agency found.Health guidance · Alcohol
  • 15 yearsFifteen or more years after stopping, esophageal cancer risk was about 65% lower than in people who kept drinking, the WHO's cancer agency found.Health guidance · Alcohol
IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention Volume 20A, Section 5: Evaluations (PDF)publications.iarc.who.int
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 5 yearsFive years is a powerful milestone.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
IARC Handbooks Volume 20A, Section 4 (PDF): risk by years since stoppingpublications.iarc.who.int
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 8 yearsFive to ten years after stopping, esophageal cancer risk was about 15% lower than in people who kept drinking (RR 0.85), the WHO's cancer agency found.Health guidance · Alcohol
  • 15 yearsFifteen or more years after stopping, esophageal cancer risk was about 65% lower than in people who kept drinking, the WHO's cancer agency found.Health guidance · Alcohol

Kawachi and colleagues, JAMA, 1993, 117,006 women

Smoking
Smoking cessation and decreased risk of stroke in womenPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 26 monthsIn a study of 117,006 women, the extra risk of stroke in former smokers had largely gone 2 to 4 years after quitting, whatever their age when they started and however much they had smoked.Measured in a study · Smoking

Kelly and colleagues, 2018, 2,002 adults, summarized by the Recovery Research Institute

Alcohol
Increasing the years increases the happinessrecoveryanswers.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 21 monthsYou're in the years of big gains. In the same US survey of 2,002 adults, most of the large improvements in distress, quality of life, happiness and self-esteem came between years 1 and 5 of recovery.Measured in a study · Alcohol

Kelly and colleagues, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2018, 2,002 adults

Alcohol
Beyond Abstinence: Changes in Indices of Quality of Life with Time in Recovery (MEDLINE record)pesquisa.bvsalud.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 13 monthsHappiness picks up. In a US national survey of 2,002 adults who had overcome an alcohol or drug problem, happiness and self-esteem on average dipped during the first year, then began rising around the one-year mark.Measured in a study · Alcohol
Increasing the years increases the happiness (Recovery Research Institute summary)recoveryanswers.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 13 monthsHappiness picks up. In a US national survey of 2,002 adults who had overcome an alcohol or drug problem, happiness and self-esteem on average dipped during the first year, then began rising around the one-year mark.Measured in a study · Alcohol

Lim and colleagues, meta-analysis, 2024, 19 studies of 18,833 people

Alcohol
Prevalence and impact of alcohol abstinence in alcohol-associated cirrhosis (eScholarship record)escholarship.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 45 monthsEven a badly damaged liver does better without alcohol. Across 19 studies of 18,833 people with alcohol-related cirrhosis, followed for about 4 years, those who stopped drinking lived longer and had fewer serious liver crises than those who kept drinking.Measured in a study · Alcohol

Lung Health Study: Scanlon and colleagues, 2000, 3,926 smokers with mild to moderate COPD

Smoking
Smoking cessation and lung function in mild-to-moderate COPD: the Lung Health StudyPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 13 monthsQuitting slows how fast lungs age. In a large study of smokers who already had mild to moderate COPD, lung function rose in the year after quitting, then declined at half the rate of people who kept smoking, about the same pace as people who never smoked.Measured in a study · Smoking

Lykkesfeldt and colleagues, BMJ, 1996

Smoking
Effect of smoking cessation on plasma ascorbic acid concentrationbmj.com
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 28 daysYour vitamin C is climbing back. Smoking burns through it so fast that the NIH says smokers need 35 mg more a day. In a 1996 study, vitamin C rose about 23% within 4 weeks of quitting.Measured in a study · Smoking

Manchester Metropolitan University, 2024, 60 people, conference presentation

Vaping
Young vapers perform worse in exercise testing, research showsmmu.ac.uk
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 4 monthsIn a small 2024 study, young vapers reached a lower peak exercise capacity than people who didn't vape or smoke: 186 watts against 226. It's an early finding, not yet tested in people who quit, and one more reason to keep moving.Linked in studies · Vaping
European Respiratory Society: Young vapers perform worse in exercise testingersnet.org
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 4 monthsIn a small 2024 study, young vapers reached a lower peak exercise capacity than people who didn't vape or smoke: 186 watts against 226. It's an early finding, not yet tested in people who quit, and one more reason to keep moving.Linked in studies · Vaping

Marron and colleagues, International Journal of Epidemiology, 2010, pooled data on 28,924 people

Smoking
Cessation of alcohol drinking, tobacco smoking and the reversal of head and neck cancer riskPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 16 monthsYour mouth and throat are better protected. In pooled data from many studies, people who had quit for 1 to 4 years had about a 30% lower risk of head and neck cancers than people still smoking, and after 20 years their risk reached that of never smokers.Measured in a study · Smoking

McHugh and Weiss, Alcohol Research: Current Reviews (NIAAA), 2019

Alcohol
Alcohol Use Disorder and Depressive Disordersarcr.niaaa.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 4 weeksYour mood is lifting. Depressive symptoms have been shown to improve significantly after 3 to 4 weeks without alcohol.Measured in a study · Alcohol

Morozumi and colleagues, 2004, 16 smokers

Smoking
Smoking cessation increases gingival blood flow and gingival crevicular fluidPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 72 hoursBlood is flowing back into your gums. In a study of 16 smokers, gum blood flow was significantly higher 3 days after quitting, and the CDC says quitting helps gums heal after treatment. The US National Cancer Institute's quit site says quitting makes teeth brighter and gums healthier.Several sources · Smoking

National Academies of Sciences, 2018

Vaping
Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes (2018), conclusions by level of evidencenationalacademies.orgNational Academies, Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes (2018): Summary chapternationalacademies.org
What it backs in the app (3)
  • What vaping leaves behindThe rise in heart rate that follows nicotine. · Vaping
  • What vaping leaves behindThe cough and wheeze linked to vaping in young people. · Vaping
  • What vaping leaves behindNicotine and fine particles in the air of the rooms you vaped in. · Vaping

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

AlcoholSmokingVaping
How Sleep Affects Your Healthnhlbi.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 24 daysBetter sleep can bring better energy and focus, all together. One rough night doesn't cancel a good week.Some people notice this · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
COPD Treatmentnhlbi.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 120 daysStaying smoke-free and getting the right treatment work together. If a cough, wheeze or breathlessness has hung around, ask about it: with COPD, treatment and lung rehab can make daily life easier alongside quitting.A checkpoint · Smoking
Smoking and Your Heartnhlbi.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 8 daysSmoke damages blood vessels and gets in the way of oxygen delivery. With it gone, the living tissue that makes your skin, hair and nails gets better support. That's a reason to be hopeful about how you'll look over time, not a promise of a change this week.From how the body works · Smoking
  • 66 daysEvery smoke-free day is a day without the repeated injury smoke does to your blood vessels, and quitting helps reduce the conditions that lead to clots and clogged arteries. It doesn't dissolve old plaque or replace blood pressure treatment, but it stops adding to the damage.Health guidance · Smoking
Your guide to healthy sleep (in brief, PDF)nhlbi.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 11 daysNicotine withdrawal can disturb sleep for a while too, and a steady routine helps.Some people notice this · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Healthy sleep habitsnhlbi.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 11 daysNicotine withdrawal can disturb sleep for a while too, and a steady routine helps.Some people notice this · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Periodontal (Gum) Diseasenidcr.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 10 daysNo new tobacco stains are going onto your teeth, and one cause of gum and mouth harm has stopped. If your teeth or gums need care, a dentist can help.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking
  • 23 daysQuitting gives your mouth a better chance, and brushing does the rest: twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, and cleaning between your teeth.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 73 daysWithout smoke, your gums have a better chance of healing and of responding to dental care. Gum disease you already have may still need a dentist.Health guidance · Smoking

NHS

AlcoholSmokingVaping
What could happen when you quit smokingnhs.uk
What it backs in the app (15)
  • 6 monthsCoughing and shortness of breath keep easing, and between 3 and 9 months lung function can rise by up to 10%.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 72 hoursBreathing feels easier as your airways relax, and your energy is increasing.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 12 weeksYou're near the end of the 2 to 12 week window often given for better circulation after quitting smoking. Your body doesn't stop benefiting when it ends: longer-term protection keeps building.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 45 daysThe first months after quitting smoking are when cough, mucus, wheeze and breathlessness can improve.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 3 monthsAbout 1.5 inches of new hair has grown since you quit. Smokers lose their hair more often. Your circulation has been improving since week 2, so this hair grew with better blood flow. For women, quitting also lets estrogen return to normal, and low estrogen can thin hair.From how the body works · Smoking
  • 20 minutesYour heart rate is already dropping back toward normal.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 3 monthsYour lung function has been rising since week two, and your circulation has improved.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 2 daysDay 2 can be hard work for cravings and focus. How you feel today doesn't predict how you'll feel in a month. Taste and smell may already be getting sharper.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 12 hoursThe carbon monoxide in your blood has already dropped by half or more, so your oxygen levels are recovering. In a day or two it's down to a non-smoker's level.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 16 daysNicotine withdrawal can make you hungrier. Regular meals work better than a strict diet right now.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 2 monthsYour skin is getting more oxygen. The NHS says that as more oxygen reaches your skin it looks brighter, and your circulation has been improving since week 2. The US National Cancer Institute's quit site adds that quitting helps clear up blemishes and protects your skin from premature aging and wrinkling.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 48 hoursYour senses of taste and smell are improving.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 2 weeksYour circulation is improving and your lung function has started to rise, so walking and running get easier. Your heart attack risk has begun to drop.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 20 daysEasier breathing can make room for more movement, and moving more builds fitness, which makes moving easier again. A good loop to be in.Some people notice this · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 5 weeksYou're in the stretch when circulation and breathing can improve after quitting smoking. It's easiest to notice on something you repeat, like a walk or the stairs, rather than sitting still.Health guidance · Smoking
Benefits of quitting smokingnhs.uk
What it backs in the app (4)
  • 45 daysThe first months after quitting smoking are when cough, mucus, wheeze and breathlessness can improve.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 2 monthsYour skin is getting more oxygen. The NHS says that as more oxygen reaches your skin it looks brighter, and your circulation has been improving since week 2. The US National Cancer Institute's quit site adds that quitting helps clear up blemishes and protects your skin from premature aging and wrinkling.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 2 weeksYour circulation is improving and your lung function has started to rise, so walking and running get easier. Your heart attack risk has begun to drop.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 20 daysEasier breathing can make room for more movement, and moving more builds fitness, which makes moving easier again. A good loop to be in.Some people notice this · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Managing nicotine withdrawal symptomsnhs.uk
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 28 daysPeople who reach 28 days smoke-free are five times more likely to quit for good.Health guidance · Smoking
Nail problemsnhs.uk
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 13 daysNew nail grows from the base and moves out slowly, so changes in your health show there first, not at the tips.From how the body works · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 20 weeksA fingernail takes about 6 months to grow back fully, so by now a good part of each nail has grown since you quit.From how the body works · Alcohol, Vaping
  • 25 daysNo new smoke stains are going onto your nails. The old yellow part grows out with the nail, a little more each week.From how the body works · Smoking
Tips on cutting down on alcoholnhs.uk
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 1 weekA whole week of new routines to learn from: the hardest moments, the ones that surprised you, and what helped.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 24 daysBetter sleep can bring better energy and focus, all together. One rough night doesn't cancel a good week.Some people notice this · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 5 daysYour complexion gets a break. Alcohol dehydrates you and can flush your face, and the NHS lists better-looking skin among the first effects of cutting down.Health guidance · Alcohol
Alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD)nhs.uk
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 3 weeksIf you drank heavily or had abnormal tests, 3 weeks is a good point to check in with your doctor. Early fatty liver changes can reverse, while scarring needs its own follow-up.Health guidance · Alcohol
Vaping to quit smokingnhs.uk
What it backs in the app (5)
  • 17 daysIf the aerosol was drying your mouth, scratching your throat or making you cough, those may be settling by now. It's useful evidence about you, though there's no set recovery time for everyone.Some people notice this · Vaping
  • 3 monthsThe NHS lists dry mouth and throat, and mouth and throat irritation, as common side effects of vaping, and about a third of vapers report a dry mouth. You've stopped what causes them.Linked in studies · Vaping
  • 3 daysWith no aerosol going in, a dry or scratchy throat gets a chance to settle. There's no set date for a vaper's lungs to recover, so go by how you feel.Some people notice this · Vaping
  • What vaping leaves behindNot knowing what years of vaping would do. The long-term risks are not yet clear. · Vaping
  • What vaping leaves behindCoughing, dry mouth and throat, mouth and throat irritation, shortness of breath and headaches, the common side effects of vaping. · Vaping
Alcohol-use disordernhs.uk
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 1 weekA whole week of new routines to learn from: the hardest moments, the ones that surprised you, and what helped.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Alcohol supportnhs.ukCalories in alcoholnhs.ukTips to help you lose weightnhs.ukBenefits of exercisenhs.uk

NHS Wales

Alcohol
Alcohol-related liver disease111.wales.nhs.uk
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 2 weeksIf drinking had built up fat in your liver, two to three weeks off can be enough for it to return to normal.Health guidance · Alcohol

NIAAA

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Hangoversniaaa.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 5 daysYour complexion gets a break. Alcohol dehydrates you and can flush your face, and the NHS lists better-looking skin among the first effects of cutting down.Health guidance · Alcohol
Alcohol Flush Reaction: Does drinking alcohol make your face red?niaaa.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 5 daysYour complexion gets a break. Alcohol dehydrates you and can flush your face, and the NHS lists better-looking skin among the first effects of cutting down.Health guidance · Alcohol
The Role of Biomarkers in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorders, 2012 Revision (SAMHSA advisory hosted by NIAAA)niaaa.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 6 weeksYour liver tests are settling. GGT, a liver enzyme raised by heavy drinking, usually returns to the normal range within 2 to 4 weeks of stopping.Measured in a study · Alcohol
Natural Recovery by the Liver and Other Organs After Chronic Alcohol Use (Alcohol Research: Current Reviews, NIAAA)arcr.niaaa.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 40 weeksBetter sleep, regular meals and easier movement make strength and balance easier to build.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Alcohol's effects on the bodyniaaa.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 40 weeksBetter sleep, regular meals and easier movement make strength and balance easier to build.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 26 daysYour body does its repair work best with the basics in place. There's no day your immune system resets, so they matter all along.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Medical complications: common alcohol-related concernsniaaa.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 40 weeksBetter sleep, regular meals and easier movement make strength and balance easier to build.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 26 daysYour body does its repair work best with the basics in place. There's no day your immune system resets, so they matter all along.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
Alcohol and the brain: an overviewniaaa.nih.govRethinking Drinking: strategies for cutting downrethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov

NIAAA, Alcohol and the Brain

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Alcohol and the Brain, An Overviewniaaa.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 9 weeksNine weeks. Less time negotiating with a habit leaves more attention for things you care about.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping

NIH

Smoking
Hair Problemsmedlineplus.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 3 monthsAbout 1.5 inches of new hair has grown since you quit. Smokers lose their hair more often. Your circulation has been improving since week 2, so this hair grew with better blood flow. For women, quitting also lets estrogen return to normal, and low estrogen can thin hair.From how the body works · Smoking
NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin C fact sheet for health professionalsods.od.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 28 daysYour vitamin C is climbing back. Smoking burns through it so fast that the NIH says smokers need 35 mg more a day. In a 1996 study, vitamin C rose about 23% within 4 weeks of quitting.Measured in a study · Smoking

NIH Office of Dietary Supplements

Alcohol
Thiamin: Fact Sheet for Health Professionalsods.od.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 72 hoursYour food is feeding you properly again. Alcohol cuts how much thiamine (B1), folate and zinc your gut absorbs, and flushes zinc out in urine. With alcohol gone, that interference stops.From how the body works · Alcohol
Folate: Fact Sheet for Health Professionalsods.od.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 72 hoursYour food is feeding you properly again. Alcohol cuts how much thiamine (B1), folate and zinc your gut absorbs, and flushes zinc out in urine. With alcohol gone, that interference stops.From how the body works · Alcohol
Zinc: Fact Sheet for Health Professionalsods.od.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 72 hoursYour food is feeding you properly again. Alcohol cuts how much thiamine (B1), folate and zinc your gut absorbs, and flushes zinc out in urine. With alcohol gone, that interference stops.From how the body works · Alcohol

Nixon and Lewis, Alcohol Research: Current Reviews (NIAAA), 2020

Alcohol
Brain Structure and Function in Recoveryarcr.niaaa.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 8 weeksYour brain function improves substantially in the first 4 to 8 weeks without alcohol, with more modest gains through the first year.Measured in a study · Alcohol

Peris and colleagues, Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 1994, 30 men

Alcohol
Bone mass improves in alcoholics after 2 years of abstinenceacademic.oup.com
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 2 yearsStronger bones. In men who had been heavy drinkers, a blood marker of bone building rose after a year without alcohol and again by two years, and bone density in the spine and hip rose about 3%, while a comparison group's spine density fell.Measured in a study · Alcohol

Pfefferbaum and colleagues, Archives of General Psychiatry, 1998, 16 men and controls

Alcohol
A controlled study of cortical gray matter and ventricular changes in alcoholic men over a 5-year interval (University of Minnesota record)experts.umn.edu
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 54 monthsYour brain ages at a normal pace. Over about 5 years, men recovering from alcohol dependence who stayed virtually sober showed the same slow widening of the brain's fluid spaces as healthy men, while more drinking meant faster loss of grey matter.Measured in a study · Alcohol

Pfefferbaum and colleagues, Lancet Psychiatry, 2014, 47 people in recovery and 56 controls

Alcohol
White Matter Microstructural Recovery with Abstinence and Decline with Relapse in Alcohol Dependence (SRI record)sri.com
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 17 monthsYour brain's wiring keeps repairing. People recovering from alcohol dependence were scanned again and again over 1 to 8 years. In those who stayed sober, white matter, the connections between brain areas, kept improving toward normal. In those who relapsed, it declined.Measured in a study · Alcohol

Smokefree.gov, US National Cancer Institute

SmokingVaping
Estrogen Levelssmokefree.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 3 monthsAbout 1.5 inches of new hair has grown since you quit. Smokers lose their hair more often. Your circulation has been improving since week 2, so this hair grew with better blood flow. For women, quitting also lets estrogen return to normal, and low estrogen can thin hair.From how the body works · Smoking
Clearing the Air, Quit Smoking Todaysmokefree.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 72 hoursBlood is flowing back into your gums. In a study of 16 smokers, gum blood flow was significantly higher 3 days after quitting, and the CDC says quitting helps gums heal after treatment. The US National Cancer Institute's quit site says quitting makes teeth brighter and gums healthier.Several sources · Smoking
Benefits of Quitting Smokingsmokefree.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 2 monthsYour skin is getting more oxygen. The NHS says that as more oxygen reaches your skin it looks brighter, and your circulation has been improving since week 2. The US National Cancer Institute's quit site adds that quitting helps clear up blemishes and protects your skin from premature aging and wrinkling.Health guidance · Smoking
Nicotine Withdrawal and Vapingsmokefree.gov
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 13 monthsNicotine-free is your normal now. The US National Cancer Institute says the longer you go without vaping, the more your body can get used to being nicotine-free, and you're more than a year in.Health guidance · Vaping
  • 2 weeksThe worst is usually behind you. The US National Cancer Institute says the worst withdrawal symptoms from vaping last only a few days to a couple of weeks.Health guidance · Vaping
  • What vaping leaves behindThe craving cycle. The worst withdrawal lasts a few days to a couple of weeks, and then it's behind you. · Vaping
Stress, Anxiety, and Vapingsmokefree.gov

Su and Chen, 2007

Smoking
Association of androgenetic alopecia with smoking among Asian menPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 3 monthsAbout 1.5 inches of new hair has grown since you quit. Smokers lose their hair more often. Your circulation has been improving since week 2, so this hair grew with better blood flow. For women, quitting also lets estrogen return to normal, and low estrogen can thin hair.From how the body works · Smoking

Taylor and colleagues, BMJ, 2014, review of 26 studies

SmokingVaping
Change in mental health after smoking cessationPubMed
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 6 weeksQuitting lifts your mood. A review of 26 studies found people who quit had less anxiety, depression and stress, and a better mood, than people who kept smoking. Quitting doesn't hurt your mental health. It helps it.Measured in a study · Smoking, Vaping
  • 18 monthsThe lift in mood lasts. In a review of 26 studies that followed people for up to 9 years, quitting was linked to less depression, anxiety and stress, and to better mood and quality of life, compared with carrying on smoking.Measured in a study · Smoking, Vaping

Thomes and colleagues, Alcohol Research, 2021

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Natural Recovery by the Liver and Other Organs After Chronic Alcohol Usearcr.niaaa.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 3 weeksIf you drank heavily or had abnormal tests, 3 weeks is a good point to check in with your doctor. Early fatty liver changes can reverse, while scarring needs its own follow-up.Health guidance · Alcohol
  • 40 weeksBetter sleep, regular meals and easier movement make strength and balance easier to build.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 2 weeksIf drinking had built up fat in your liver, two to three weeks off can be enough for it to return to normal.Health guidance · Alcohol

Tindle and colleagues, JNCI, 2018, 8,907 people (Framingham Heart Study)

Smoking
Lifetime smoking history and risk of lung cancer: the Framingham Heart StudyPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 51 monthsIn the Framingham Heart Study, heavy smokers who quit had a 39% lower risk of lung cancer within 5 years than those who kept smoking. It stays higher than a never smoker's for decades, so check-ups still matter.Measured in a study · Smoking

Tomar and Asma, Journal of Periodontology, 2000, US national survey of 12,329 adults

Smoking
Smoking-attributable periodontitis in the United States: findings from NHANES IIIPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 20 monthsGum disease odds keep falling. In a US national survey, former smokers' odds of gum disease were lower the longer they had been quit: about 3 times a never smoker's in the first 2 years, and no longer clearly higher after 11 years.Measured in a study · Smoking

UK National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training

Smoking
Smoking and bone healthncsct.co.uk
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 1 yearYour bones are better protected over time. Quitting has been shown to partly reverse the higher fracture risk that comes with long-term smoking.Health guidance · Smoking

US FDA

AlcoholSmokingVaping
How Tobacco Use Affects Oral Healthfda.gov
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 10 daysNo new tobacco stains are going onto your teeth, and one cause of gum and mouth harm has stopped. If your teeth or gums need care, a dentist can help.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking
  • 73 daysWithout smoke, your gums have a better chance of healing and of responding to dental care. Gum disease you already have may still need a dentist.Health guidance · Smoking
Smoking: medicines to help you quitfda.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 12 hoursHalf a day done. Make the next half easier: move the cigarettes and lighters away from the places you usually reach for them.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping

US National Cancer Institute

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Tips for Coping with Nicotine Withdrawal and Triggerscancer.gov
What it backs in the app (5)
  • 11 daysNicotine withdrawal can disturb sleep for a while too, and a steady routine helps.Some people notice this · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 2 daysDay 2 can be hard work for cravings and focus. How you feel today doesn't predict how you'll feel in a month. Taste and smell may already be getting sharper.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 29 daysFor many people the early withdrawal has eased a lot by now, though a cue can still spark a craving. Social pressure is the next test, and you don't owe anyone a long explanation.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 18 daysA hard evening can still come after easier days. Learned cues, like a place or a feeling, fade more slowly than the nicotine did.A checkpoint · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 3 daysNicotine withdrawal usually peaks in the first 3 days. You may feel foggy, irritable or extra hungry, and cravings can sound very convincing. Each one passes, and from here it eases on average, though not in a straight line.Health guidance · Smoking, Vaping
Harms of Cigarette Smoking and Health Benefits of Quittingcancer.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 22 monthsThe US National Cancer Institute says that within a few years of quitting, people have lower risks of cancer, heart disease and other long-term illnesses than if they had kept smoking.Health guidance · Smoking

US National Cancer Institute, Monograph 7

Vaping
NCI Monograph 7, chapter 7: Biomarkers of Cigarette Smoking (Benowitz, 1996)cancercontrol.cancer.gov
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 4 daysYour body has cleared almost all of its cotinine, the substance it makes from nicotine. Cotinine halves about every 16 hours, so after 3 to 4 days very little is left.From how the body works · Vaping
  • 10 hoursAbout 97% of the nicotine has left your blood. Nicotine halves about every 2 hours, so five halvings clear nearly all of it.From how the body works · Vaping

US Surgeon General, 2020

Smoking
Smoking Cessation, Surgeon General 2020, Chapter 1 conclusions (NCBI Bookshelf)ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 66 daysEvery smoke-free day is a day without the repeated injury smoke does to your blood vessels, and quitting helps reduce the conditions that lead to clots and clogged arteries. It doesn't dissolve old plaque or replace blood pressure treatment, but it stops adding to the damage.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 5 yearsFrom 5 to 10 years, your stroke risk falls toward a non-smoker's, and your added risk of mouth, throat and voice-box cancers drops by half. Quitting lowers the risk of 12 different cancers.Health guidance · Smoking
Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General, Key Findings (HHS)hhs.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 5 yearsFrom 5 to 10 years, your stroke risk falls toward a non-smoker's, and your added risk of mouth, throat and voice-box cancers drops by half. Quitting lowers the risk of 12 different cancers.Health guidance · Smoking
US Surgeon General 2020, Smoking Cessation, Chapter 5: overall morbidity and mortalityncbi.nlm.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 12 weeksYou're near the end of the 2 to 12 week window often given for better circulation after quitting smoking. Your body doesn't stop benefiting when it ends: longer-term protection keeps building.Health guidance · Smoking

US Surgeon General, Smoking Cessation, 2020

AlcoholSmoking
US Surgeon General 2020, Smoking Cessation, Chapter 1: conclusionsncbi.nlm.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (3)
  • 17 monthsLess build-up in your arteries. The US Surgeon General concluded that quitting reduces the early, silent build-up in the arteries, and that it progresses more slowly the longer you stay quit.Health guidance · Smoking
  • 28 monthsYour heart keeps gaining, more gently now. The US Surgeon General concluded that heart disease risk falls quickly after quitting and then keeps declining more slowly.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking
  • 54 monthsThe US Surgeon General concluded that quitting is the only proven way to slow the loss of lung function in COPD, and to lower the risk of developing it. You chose the one thing that works.Health guidance · Smoking
US Surgeon General 2020, Smoking Cessation, Chapter 5: overall morbidity and mortalityncbi.nlm.nih.gov
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 21 monthsThe benefits keep building. The US Surgeon General found that the drop in risk of death after quitting begins soon after you stop and continues for at least 10 to 15 years, by which point it is nearly that of someone who never smoked.Health guidance · Smoking

Verghese and colleagues, Chest, 1990

Smoking
The harlequin nail: a marker for smoking cessationPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 7 weeksAbout 5 mm of new nail has grown in since you quit, with no smoke to stain it. Doctors even have a name for the line between old stained nail and new clean nail: the harlequin nail.From how the body works · Smoking

WHO

AlcoholSmokingVaping
Tobacco: Health benefits of smoking cessation (Q&A, 25 February 2020)who.int
What it backs in the app (2)
  • 3 yearsYou're now in the 3 to 6 year stretch in which, by the CDC's count, the extra heart disease risk smoking added drops by half. The WHO says that a year after quitting your heart disease risk is already about half a smoker's, so the change is well under way. Three years of ordinary life without the old routine.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping
  • 1 yearYour added risk of coronary heart disease is now about half that of someone who still smokes.Health guidance · Alcohol, Smoking

Wu and colleagues, JAMA Network Open, 2023, 4,260 adults

Smoking
Smoking Cessation and Changes in Anxiety and DepressionPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 88 daysIn a large study of adults in a quit-smoking trial, staying quit was linked to better anxiety and depression scores, including in people with a history of mental illness. It's a link, not a promise, but it points the right way.Measured in a study · Smoking

Yoshida and colleagues, Nature, 2020, 16 people

Smoking
Tobacco smoking and somatic mutations in human bronchial epitheliumPubMed
What it backs in the app (1)
  • 2 yearsIn a small study of airway cells, people who had quit smoking had more cells with little tobacco-related damage than people still smoking. The researchers read this as healthier cells repopulating the airway lining after quitting. It didn't measure how fast.Measured in a study · Smoking

Please read

Support, not a replacement for your doctor.

Turvie is a support tool, not medical treatment. Turvie is here to support you, not to replace your doctor. Check with a doctor as well as using the app, and before making medical decisions.

If you drink heavily every day, or get shaky or sweaty when a drink is late, talk to a doctor before you stop: alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous. Seizures, hallucinations or severe confusion mean calling emergency services straight away. HealthLink BC on alcohol withdrawal · NIAAA on cutting down or quitting

Health and safety, in full →

Canada

  • EmergencyCall 9-1-1
  • 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline24 hours, every dayCall or text 9-8-8
  • Health Canada quit coachFree help to quit smoking1-866-366-3667
  • QuitNow BCFree help to quit smoking or vaping in BC1-877-455-2233
  • HealthLink BC, nurses and health advice24 hours, every day. 7-1-1 for the deaf and hard of hearingCall 8-1-1
  • BC Alcohol and Drug Information and Referral ServiceInformation and referral, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. Lower Mainland 604-660-93821-800-663-1441

United States

  • EmergencyCall 911
  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline24 hours, every day, including for substance useCall or text 988
  • Your state's quitline1-800-784-86691-800-QUIT-NOW
  • SAMHSA National HelplineFree, confidential information and treatment referral, 24 hours1-800-662-4357