Before any person who has decided to quit smoking, the question always arises of how to do it right: abruptly or gradually. In fact, even doctors do not have a clear opinion on this issue.
Some doctors believe that nicotine hunger, which occurs in a smoker's body as a result of a sharp cessation of smoking, is very dangerous for the body and can provoke the development of serious diseases.
Others, on the contrary, believe that it is necessary to quit smoking in this way - to say goodbye to this addiction once and for all, and all methods of gradual smoking cessation simply do not make sense.
In order to avoid lengthy arguments and arguments, everyone should think carefully about which method is right for them. In any case, it should be understood that smoking cessation is possible only when the smoker himself is sure that he needs to give up this bad habit and understands why he needs it.
In turn, in order to be able to make the right choice between immediate and gradual nicotine cessation, every smoker needs to know what happens to their body when they stop smoking abruptly.
What Happens When You Quit Smoking Abruptly: 8 Negative Consequences
Since a heavy smoker constantly receives a certain dose of nicotine, he forms an incredibly strong physical and psychological dependence. Of course, if the body completely unexpectedly deprives it of some kind of "food", abstinence syndrome or "withdrawal" can begin.
Tobacco smoking is similar to drug addiction, which is why quitting smoking can be difficult for some people.
After abruptly quitting smoking, the addict may encounter a number of negative feelings, but they are all temporary. This is precisely the body's reaction and not its permanent state in the future. The broader health benefits of rejection are far more significant than the temporary discomfort and sensation.
- A person who quits smoking after prolonged use of tobacco products becomes prone to colds due to a weakened immune system. In addition, due to the weakening of the body's defenses, a former smoker can aggravate all chronic ailments.
- High-intensity dizziness and headache associated with drop in blood pressure caused by stopping abruptly.
- Violation of the gastrointestinal tract, manifested in the form of diarrhea, constipation, heartburn, nausea or vomiting.
- cough with sputum. Especially often, coughing attacks occur in the early morning, immediately after waking up, since a lot of mucus accumulates in the body during the sleep of a former smoker.
- Shortness of breath, like feeling of suffocation.
- An unexpectedly large weight gain of several kilograms. It is this unpleasant consequence that, in most cases, discourages people, especially women, from quitting smoking abruptly.
- Increased anxiety, irritability.
- Lethargy, apathy and bad mood. Some particularly vulnerable people develop severe depression as a result of stopping smoking immediately, which can only be treated by working with a qualified psychologist for many years.
Is it dangerous to stop smoking suddenly?
Of course, no one wants to experience the state that occurs in the body from unexpected smoking cessation.
Most women and men who have taken such a serious step say that they just felt terrible and constantly wanted to give up everything and smoke a cigarette again.
The expectation of various negative consequences very often leads to discussions about whether it is really harmful and dangerous to stop smoking abruptly.
Of course, one cannot say that this clearly makes sense, because in such a situation the body of a heavy smoker is subjected to heavy loads and can react differently to such changes.
However, it should be understood that while creating such a stressful situation is dangerous, long-term exposure to nicotine and tar from the use of tobacco products can cause much more harm to the body. In addition, all of the above negative effects are only short-term.
It will take some time, usually about 2-3 weeks, the body will get used to the changes that have occurred in it, and all these unpleasant symptoms will disappear forever and will never bother the former smoker again.
Contrary to popular belief, this also applies to unexpected weight gain. As a rule, after a sharp cessation of smoking, the metabolism is disturbed, which leads to the appearance of extra pounds. You should not be afraid of them because if you exercise and eat properly, they will disappear as suddenly as they appeared.
Sharp or Gradual: Which Rejection Method is Right for You?
Each person's body is individual, and the method of unexpected cessation of nicotine use is not suitable for everyone. However, based on the results of numerous clinical studies, in most cases such withdrawal is quite easy and painless for smokers with less than 10 years of nicotine addiction.
If smoking tobacco has already become a habit, and the body of a man or woman receives its dose of nicotine every day for 10 years or even more, before abruptly giving up cigarettes, you need to think very carefully and consult a doctor.
In such a situation, the final decision is made taking into account the following factors:
- individual characteristics of the smoker's body, both physical and psychological;
- general state of health, presence of chronic complaints;
- state of the nervous system;
- the quality of human nutrition;
- living conditions of the smoker;
- duration of nicotine use;
- the degree of nicotine addiction, determined by a professional psychologist.
Based on the combination of all these factors, the doctor, together with the patient, must determine what will happen if you abruptly and unexpectedly give up nicotine and give up cigarettes forever. Since this can be really dangerous in some cases, a qualified doctor may recommend that you gradually quit smoking.
In this case, the smoker should gently reduce the number of cigarettes. They usually start with a reduction to 10 cigarettes a day, then to 5, then to 3 and finally as a final step to 2 cigarettes a day. After the body has already gotten used to consuming only two cigarettes a day and that is completely sufficient for it, you should finally stop smoking.
Under such circumstances, the smoker's body gradually weans itself from the alkaloid and begins to produce acetylcholine on its own, which helps to get rid of the addiction gently and almost painlessly. At the same time, negative consequences and unpleasant symptoms appear very little or not at all.
Regardless of how exactly you decide to quit smoking—abruptly or gradually—be confident in your abilities and make sure you're going all the way.
The harm of smoking to the human body is obvious, so you should not delay the moment of quitting, because after a while it will be much more difficult to quit this bad habit.