Exact Answer: 2 Weeks – 3 Months
How long does it take to cough up phlegm after quitting smoking? Well, the answer is, it depends.
Some people may get rid of their phlegm relatively quickly after quitting smoking. For others, this process may take a little longer — up to several weeks or even months for more stubborn cases. Ultimately, though, if you stop emitting smoke from your mouth and nose into the air — even if you do so one puff at a time — your body will eventually heal itself and coughing up goop won’t be necessary anymore!
This post is all about how long it takes to cough up phlegm after quitting smoking. While coughing up phlegm is not necessary for your health, it can be a symptom of a common cold or another illness, and will hopefully prevent you from the discomfort of this annoying by-product of cigarettes.
Key Points About Coughing Up Phlegm
- Coughing up phlegm is a sign that the body is clearing out the mucus that was previously trapped in your throat and lungs.
- Coughing up phlegm is a sign that the liver is working; it’s doing its job by ensuring that all of the toxins from tobacco are eliminated from your body.
- Coughing up phlegm can also mean that there’s something else wrong with you, such as a cold or sore throat. The best way to find out if this is the case is to see a doctor and get tested for illnesses such as the common cold or flu.
As smoking is the practice of burning a cigarette or similar substance and inhaling, its smoke can impact one’s health and particularly one’s lungs in an extremely adverse manner. When one smokes, the smoke actually burns the lungs, reducing the ability of the lung to function properly and thus negatively impacting one’s health.
How Long Do You Cough Up Phlegm After Quitting Smoking?
| Conditions | Duration |
| Severe headaches, moodiness, and irritability after quitting smoking | 3 – 5 days |
| Coughing up phlegm after quitting smoking | 2 weeks – 3 months |
When smoking is stopped, there are always phlegm in the lungs that can continue to irritate while they get cleared out. It takes time for the mucus in your lungs to be removed, which is why coughing up phlegm can be a common symptom when you quit smoking.
Healthy people do not cough up phlegm from their lungs as it is normally a sign of infection or irritation.
References
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000293439900056X
https://thorax.bmj.com/content/56/suppl_2/ii7?int_source=trendmd&int_campaign=usage-042019&int_medium=cpc
