Quitting smoking can do wonders for one's body, especially for long-time smokers.

Only five years after quitting, the body starts to renew itself and after 15 years, the harmful effects of smoking completely leaves the body and decreases the chance of getting smoking-related diseases by up to 90 percent, said Professor Ülkü Yılmaz, vice president of the Turkish Respiratory Society.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Professor Yılmaz said lung cancer is the second most common type of cancer in both men and women in Turkey.

According to 2012 data, more than 1.8 million people were diagnosed with lung cancer worldwide and 1.6 million of them eventually lost their lives. The number of lung cancer patients is predicted to reach 2.5 million by 2025.

Professor Yılmaz said lung cancer risk is up to 30 times higher in people who smoke, adding that the chance of getting lung cancer is lower than 1 percent in people who have never smoked in their lives.

"As soon as a smoker quits his or her habit, the risk of getting lung cancer starts to decrease," Yılmaz said.

"After 15 years of quitting smoking, the risk of lung cancer can decrease up to 90 percent, but one should never forget that the risk will be never as less as a person who has never smoked in their life," he added.