Before anyone who has decided to quit smoking, the question always arises of how to do it well: suddenly or gradually. In fact, even doctors don't have a definitive opinion on this.
Some doctors believe that nicotine hunger, which occurs in the body of a smoker 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 gradually quitting smoking simply do not make sense.
In order to avoid long disputes and arguments, each person should think carefully and decide which method suits him. In any case, it should be understood that quitting smoking is possible only if the smoker himself is sure of the need to give up this bad habit and understands why he needs it.
In turn, in order to make the right choice between instant and gradual cessation of nicotine, each smoker needs to know what will happen to his body if he stops smoking suddenly.
What Happens If You Quit Smoking Suddenly: 8 Negative Consequences
Since a heavy smoker constantly receives a certain dose of nicotine, he forms an incredibly strong physical and psychological addiction. Of course, if completely unexpectedly the body deprives it of some kind of "food", an abstinence or "withdrawal" syndrome can begin.
Smoking is akin to drug addiction, which is why quitting can be difficult for some people.
Having quit smoking abruptly, the addict may experience a number of negative feelings, but they are all temporary. This is precisely the reaction of the body, and not its permanent state in the future. The other health benefits of refusal are far greater than the inconvenience and temporary sensations.
- A person who quits smoking after prolonged use of tobacco products becomes susceptible to colds due to a weakened immune system. In addition, due to the weakening of the body's defenses, a former smoker can exacerbate all chronic conditions.
- Dizziness and high intensity headaches, which are associated with drops in blood pressure caused by stopping suddenly.
- Violation of the gastrointestinal tract, manifested in the form of diarrhea, constipation, heartburn, nausea or vomiting.
- Cough with production of sputum. Especially often, coughing attacks occur in the early morning, immediately after waking up, because during sleep a large amount of mucus accumulates in the body of a former smoker.
- Feeling short of breath, like suffocation.
- An unexpected large weight increase of several kilograms. It is this unpleasant consequence that in most cases prevents people, especially women, from suddenly quitting smoking.
- Increased anxiety, irritability.
- Lethargy, apathy and bad mood. In some particularly sensitive people, as a result of an immediate cessation of smoking, severe depression occurs, which can only be treated during long-term work with a qualified psychologist.
Is it dangerous to quit smoking suddenly?
Of course, no one wants to experience the state that occurs in the body as a result of quitting smoking unexpectedly.
Most women and men who took such a serious step say that they felt just terrible and constantly wanted to quit everything and smoke a cigarette again.
The expectation of various negative consequences very often makes people wonder whether it is really harmful and dangerous to quit smoking abruptly.
Of course, one cannot say that this is unequivocally useful, since the body of a heavy smoker in such a situation is under severe stress, and it can react to such changes in different ways.
However, it should be understood that although creating such a stressful situation is dangerous, long-term exposure to nicotine and tar through the use of tobacco products can cause much more harm to the body. Moreover, all the above negative effects are only short-lived.
It will take a little 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 this, because if you exercise and eat well, they will disappear as suddenly as they appeared.
Suddenly or gradually: which refusal method is best for you?
Each person's body is individual, and the method of unexpectedly quitting nicotine use is not suitable for everyone. Nevertheless, based on the results of numerous clinical trials, for smokers with less than 10 years of nicotine addiction, such withdrawal is in most cases quite easy and painless.
If smoking tobacco has already become a habit, and the body of a man or a woman receives its dose of nicotine every day for 10 years or even more, before suddenly quitting smoking, you need to think very carefullyand see 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, the presence of chronic diseases;
- state of the nervous system;
- the quality of human nutrition;
- smoker's living conditions;
- 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 suddenly and unexpectedly stop using nicotine and quit smoking permanently. Since it can be very dangerous in some cases, a qualified doctor may recommend that you use gradual smoking cessation.
In this case, the smoker should gently reduce the number of cigarettes. Typically, they start by reducing to 10 cigarettes a day, then to 5, then to 3, and finally, the last step is 2 cigarettes a day. Once the body is already accustomed to smoking only two cigarettes a day, which is quite enough for it, you should finally quit smoking.
Under such circumstances, the smoker's body has gradually weaned off the alkaloid and begins to independently produce acetylcholine, which helps to smoothly and almost painlessly get rid of addiction. At the same time, negative consequences and unpleasant symptoms appear very slightly or are not noticeable at all.
Regardless of exactly how you decide to quit smoking - abruptly or gradually - have confidence in your abilities and make sure you follow through.
The harm of smoking for the human body is obvious, so you should not delay the moment of quitting it, because after a while it will be much more difficult to give up this bad habit.