I have quit smoking after 15 year I am at the 12 week mark. I never smoked that heavily but did non the less. I am 40 years old and am really feel my health improving further. I have always been and am physically very fit and have a good diet. When I stopped in the first 4 weeks I started out coughing up phlem with black specks and grey mini hairs. This has passed and for the next month I had a wet cough with thin clear phlem particularly upon arising and after excersie. This has now given way to a dry unprodcutive cough that has a  small strands of  quit thick yellowish tinged phlem when I manage to cough up anything. I now have this dry unproductive cough quiet regularly particularly after excersing. IS this just part of the healing process and when will it be complete. My lungs feel very clear now but tye cough remains.
Hello and thank you for asking. I congratulate you for stop smoking. It is a difficult process and not everyone succeeds. You say that you have been smoking for 15 years, so your lungs are full of smoke. Exercising in fresh air help lungs to extend better and to improve the compliance of them. The secretions that you remove with the cough process means that the lungs are cleansed and may be this will go on for some time.Meanwhile, you should Chat Doctor. Don't worry about the cough. If you do not have any other complain like fever difficulty in breathing, chest pain you do not have to do anything further. The cough will go away slowly in the same way they lungs are repairing. Thank you