Side Effects Of Nicotine Withdrawal
The actual physical withdrawal from nicotine is a very mild, slightly empty, insecure feeling. Its so mild that most smokers dont even notice it throughout their smoking lives.
The physical feelings that the slight feeling of withdrawal trigger are caused by the process a smoker has gone through whilst becoming addicted. They believe that smoking helps them to relax, cope with stress, socialise, concentrate and focus, enjoy drinking or enjoying a meal, and even after sex. It is this belief that has a smoker who is using willpower to quit experience awful panic, anxiety, upset, and irritability.
As a smoker goes through the various stages of quitting nicotine using willpower the symptoms get worse and worse and include all of the above, as well as sleeplessness, and a feeling of doom and gloom.
The great news is that Allen Carrs Easyway to Stop Smoking method ensures that the former smoker doesnt suffer any of those negative signs of nicotine withdrawal. In fact, the physical effects of quitting nicotine are entirely positive, as are the mental ones, as long as you use the right method to quit.
Most smokers, even really heavy ones, dont even experience so much as a nicotine headache.
The stages of nicotine withdrawal cease to be a minefield or obstacle course and instead become like a walk in the park.
Tobacco withdrawal, even for chain-smokers or chain-vapers, really isnt a problem as long as you know how to stop smoking without feeling deprived.
Preventing Weight Gain After You Stop Smoking
Smoking acts as an appetite suppressant, so gaining weight is a common concern for many of us when we decide to give up cigarettes. You may even be using it as a reason not to quit. While its true that many smokers put on weight within six months of stopping smoking, the gain is usually smallabout five pounds on averageand that initial gain decreases over time. Its also important to remember that carrying a few extra pounds for a few months wont hurt your heart as much as smoking does. However, gaining weight is NOT inevitable when you stop smoking.
Smoking dampens your sense of smell and taste, so after you quit food will often seem more appealing. You may also gain weight if you replace the oral gratification of smoking with eating unhealthy comfort foods. Therefore, its important to find other, healthy ways to deal with unpleasant feelings such as stress, anxiety, or boredom rather than mindless, emotional eating.
Nurture yourself. Instead of turning to cigarettes or food when you feel stressed, anxious, or depressed, learn new ways to quickly soothe yourself. Listen to uplifting music, play with a pet, or sip a cup of hot tea, for example.
Eat healthy, varied meals. Eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, and healthy fats. Avoid sugary food, sodas, fried, and convenience food.
Drink lots of water. Drinking at least six to eight 8 oz. glasses will help you feel full and keep you from eating when youre not hungry. Water will also help flush toxins from your body.
Nicotine Addiction A Hard Habit To Break
LETTERS: The 2022 Budget allocation of RM332.1 billion was tabled in the hope that the economy would rise 5.5 to 6.5 per cent.
The part of the budget that interested me the most was that the government planned to impose an excise duty on e-cigarette products, including liquid or gel products that contain nicotine, despite the fact that they have been banned by countries such as Italy, Singapore and India.
The plan is to cut the consumption of these products to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease and lung injury.
Thus, there will be a drop in government expenditure on treating people who suffer from those diseases.
This is a commendable effort by the government as it can reduce people’s consumption of these products, although only slightly.
This is because e-cigarettes contain nicotine, and thus it is difficult for those who are addicted to quit consuming it.
The demand for these products is deemed to be inelastic in economics, and it is similar to the demand for cigarettes.
This means that despite substantial price increases, the demand for it drops only slightly.
At the end of the day, raising taxes on these products benefits the government as it can rake in more revenue.
Some smokers believe e-cigarettes are less hazardous than cigarettes and so they have switched to e-cigarettes. That’s why we see more teens vaping.
So why should they squander their money on something that is harmful to them.
DR MOHD SHAHIDAN SHAARI
Recommended Reading: Can You Get Addicted To Advil
Drink Plenty Of Water
Taken internally, water flushes out the toxins that are being removed by the liver and kidneys. It also ensures that the blood remains well-diluted, resulting in improved circulation and oxygenation, which is essential for optimum brain and body organ function. The more effectively you flush out your system with clean water, the faster your body will remove the poisonous tobacco toxins.
Most people need at least two litres of water a day to maintain healthy body function. While you are cleansing your body from nicotine, you may need to increase this amount to two-and-a-half or even three litres per day.
What To Do If You Slip Or Relapse
Most people try to stop smoking several times before they kick the habit for good, so dont beat yourself up if you slip up and smoke a cigarette. Instead, turn the relapse into a rebound by learning from your mistake. Analyze what happened right before you started smoking again, identify the triggers or trouble spots you ran into, and make a new stop-smoking plan that eliminates them.
Its also important to emphasize the difference between a slip and a relapse. If you start smoking again, it doesnt mean that you cant get back on the wagon. You can choose to learn from the slip and let it motivate you to try harder or you can use it as an excuse to go back to your smoking habit. But the choice is yours. A slip doesnt have to turn into a full-blown relapse.
Youre not a failure if you slip up. It doesnt mean you cant quit for good.
Dont let a slip become a mudslide. Throw out the rest of the pack. Its important to get back on the non-smoking track as soon as possible.
Look back at your quit log and feel good about the time you went without smoking.
Find the trigger. Exactly what was it that made you smoke again? Decide how you will cope with that issue the next time it comes up.
Learn from your experience. What has been most helpful? What didnt work?
Are you using a medicine to help you quit? Call your doctor if you start smoking again. Some medicines cannot be used if youre smoking at the same time.
Don’t Miss: What Are The 12 Steps Of Addiction Recovery
Flush Out Nicotine From Your Body
When you stop smoking for a few hours, the nicotine left in your blood will make you crave for more cigarettes. For a new smoker, it may take only a day or two to get rid of nicotine from your system, but with a heavy smoker, nicotine can accumulate in bodys tissues, and the process may take a year.
Proper food intake is a good choice to aid nicotine elimination and ease withdrawal symptoms effectively. If you want to know, click TOP 12 FOODS THAT WILL FLUSH OUT NICOTINE FROM YOUR BODY to find out! However, there are still plenty methods to boost the nicotine elimination process even more. If you are curious, click this article to know the full guide on HOW TO GET NICOTINE OUT FROM YOUR SYSTEM!
Will I Miss Smoking Forever
As of Dec. 20, 2019, the new legal age limit is 21 years old for purchasing cigarettes, cigars, or any other tobacco products in the U.S.
Once a person decides to quit smoking, cravings for cigarettes is often one of the first and longest-lasting symptoms of withdrawal. These cravings are often strong at first but usually begin to dwindle the longer a person goes without smoking.
In order to get through these cravings without a relapse, it is important to understand not only how long these cravings will last, but also the steps you can take to deal with the urge to smoke.
Dont Miss: Do You Get Addicted To Weed After One Try
Don’t Miss: How To Get Off An Addiction
Take Control Of Your Vape Cravings
Cravings may be the hardest obstacle to overcome when you try to quit vaping. But if you have a plan in place before you decide to quit, you stand a better chance of being successful.
4 tips to beat your vape cravings
: Smokefree.gov
How Can I Start The Day Without Smoking
Many smokers light up a cigarette right after they wake up. After 6 to 8 hours of sleep, a smokerâs nicotine level drops and the smoker needs a boost of nicotine to start the day. After you quit, you must be ready to overcome the physical need and routine of waking up and smoking a cigarette. Instead of reaching for your cigarettes in the morning, here are some tips:
- The morning can set the tone for the rest of the day. Plan a different wake-up routine, and divert your attention from smoking.
- Be sure no cigarettes are available.
- Before you go to sleep, make a list of things you need to avoid in the morning that will make you want to smoke. Place this list where you used to place your cigarettes.
- Begin each day with a planned activity that will keep you busy for an hour or more. It will keep your mind and body busy so you donât think about smoking.
- Begin each day with deep breathing and by drinking one or more glasses of water.
Don’t Miss: What’s The Most Addictive Drug
How Can I Resist The Urge To Smoke When Im Around Smokers
You may want to analyze situations in which watching others smoke triggers an urge in you to smoke. Figure out what it is about those situations that makes you want to smoke. Is it because you associate feeling happy with being around other smokers? Or, is there something special about the situations, such as being around the people you usually smoked with? Is it tempting to join others for routine smoke breaks?
Here are some tips:
- Limit your contact with smokers, especially in the early weeks of quitting.
- Do not buy, carry, light, or hold cigarettes for others.
- If you are in a group and others light up, excuse yourself, and donât return until they have finished.
- Do not let people smoke in your home. Post a small âNo Smokingâ sign by your front door.
- Ask others to help you stay quit. Give them specific examples of things that are helpful and things that are not helpful .
- Focus on what youâve gained by quitting. For example, think of how healthy you will be when all smoking effects are gone from your body and you can call yourself smoke-free. Also, add up how much money you have saved already by not purchasing cigarettes and imagine how you will spend your savings in 6 months.
What Can I Do About Anger Frustration And Irritability
After you quit smoking, you may feel edgy and short-tempered, and you may want to give up on tasks more quickly than usual. You may be less tolerant of others and get into more arguments.
Studies have found that the most common negative feelings associated with quitting are feelings of anger, frustration, and irritability. These negative feelings peak within 1 week of quitting and may last 2 to 4 weeks .
Here are some tips for managing these negative feelings:
- Remind yourself that these feelings are temporary.
- Engage in a physical activity, such as taking a walk.
- Reduce caffeine by limiting or avoiding coffee, soda, and tea.
- Try meditation or other relaxation techniques, such as getting a massage, soaking in a hot bath, or breathing deeply through your nose and out through your mouth for 10 breaths.
- Ask your doctor about nicotine replacement products or other medications.
Also Check: How To Solve Video Game Addiction
Tobacco Nicotine And E
Yes. Most smokers use tobacco regularly because they are addicted to nicotine. Addiction is characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and use, even in the face of negative health consequences. The majority of smokers would like to stop smoking, and each year about half try to quit permanently. Yet, only about 6 percent of smokers are able to quit in a given year.25 Most smokers will need to make multiple attempts before they are able to quit permanently.22 Medications including varenicline, and some antidepressants , and nicotine-replacement therapy, can help in many cases .26
A transient surge of endorphins in the reward circuits of the brain causes a slight, brief euphoria when nicotine is administered. This surge is much briefer than the “high” associated with other drugs. However, like other drugs of abuse, nicotine increases levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in these reward circuits,20,21,27 which reinforces the behavior of taking the drug. Repeated exposure alters these circuits’ sensitivity to dopamine and leads to changes in other brain circuits involved in learning, stress, and self-control. For many tobacco users, the long-term brain changes induced by continued nicotine exposure result in addiction, which involves withdrawal symptoms when not smoking, and difficulty adhering to the resolution to quit.28,29
The Cycle Of The Smoking Habit
The cycle of the smoking habit and nicotine addiction is one that many find hard to quit. Thankfully, there are safer options to get your fix, like vaping. The more you smoke, the more your body needs to sustain those pleasurable feelings. Over time, you will develop a smoking routine that integrates with social activities, work schedules, and other triggers.
For instance, as soon as the phone rings, you may grab a cup of coffee and light-up as a source of habit. You probably arent even aware that youre doing these things because they become second nature.
Triggers are another significant part of nicotine addiction. Do you notice that when you are stressed out, you reach for your cigarettes to calm you down? If the problems of the day are grating on your nerves, you may find solace in a couple of cigarettes in the great outdoors.
The cycle of smoking means that if you want to keep feeling the pleasure that calms you down, you need to keep smoking. Once you break that cycle, your body goes through withdrawal.
Read Also: Why Are Opioids So Addictive
Start Your Quitting Journey Today
You can quit smoking for good and live a healthy, smokefree life. Take the first step and call for FREE support.
Free quit help:
Vietnamese:
You can quit smoking for good and live a healthy, smokefree life. Take the first step and call for FREE support.
Free quit help:
Vietnamese:
Learn about quitline services available in your state by going to the North American Quitline Consortiums mapexternal icon and clicking on your state.
In addition to the below resources, talk to your doctor about strategies for quitting that may be right for you.
Government Resources
- A quit-smoking support website for military personnel and their families, sponsored by the Department of Defense.
Other Online Resources
To receive email updates about this page, enter your email address:
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
- Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
- You will be subject to the destination website’s privacy policy when you follow the link.
- CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance on other federal or private website.
Which Medicine Is Best For Quitting Smoking
Some medications such as Zyban and Chantix have been approved by the FDA for use in smoking cessation. Zyban is an antidepressant and Chantix is a medication that blocks the effects of nicotine in the brain and eases withdrawal symptoms so users can more easily quit smoking and maintain their abstinence on a long-term basis. Overcoming a nicotine addiction is a long-term process, but it is obtainable with the right aid. If youâre interested in learning more about drug rehab programs at Nova, call our admissions team today.
100% Free & Confidential
You May Like: What Is The Most Addictive Illegal Drug
Read Also: How Do You Convince An Addict To Get Help
Are There Alternative Methods To Help People Quit Smoking
Some people claim that alternative approaches such as hypnosis, acupuncture, acupressure, laser therapy , or electrostimulation may help reduce the symptoms associated with nicotine withdrawal. However, in clinical studies these alternative therapies have not been found to help people quit smoking . There is no evidence that alternative approaches help smokers who are trying to quit.
