Before any person who has decided to quit smoking, the question always arises as to how to do it properly: suddenly or gradually. In fact, even doctors do not have a definite opinion on the matter.
Some doctors believe that nicotine starvation, 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 this way - say goodbye to this addiction once and for all, and all methods of gradual smoking cessation simply do not make sense.
To avoid lengthy disagreements and excuses, each person should think very carefully and determine which method is right for him. In any case, it should be understood that quitting smoking is only possible if the smoker himself is sure of the need to give up this bad habit and understands why he needs it.
On the other hand, to make the right choice between immediate and gradual cessation of nicotine, every smoker needs to know what will happen to his body if he suddenly stops smoking.
What happens if you quit smoking suddenly: 8 negative consequences
Since a heavy smoker constantly takes a certain dose of nicotine, he forms an incredibly strong physical and psychological addiction. Of course, if all of a sudden the body is deprived of some kind of "food", an abstinence or "withdrawal" syndrome can begin.
Smoking is similar to drug addiction, so quitting smoking can be difficult for some people.
By quitting smoking suddenly, the addicted person may experience a range of negative feelings, but they are all temporary. This is exactly the reaction of the body, and not its permanent state in the future. The further health benefits of rejection are far more significant than temporary worries and feelings.
- A person who quits smoking after prolonged use of tobacco products becomes sensitive to the cold due to a weakened immune system. In addition, due to the weakening of the body's defenses, a former smoker can aggravate all chronic diseases.
- High-intensity dizziness and headache, which are accompanied by a drop in blood pressure caused by sudden smoking cessation.
- Violation of the gastrointestinal tract, manifested in the form of diarrhea, constipation, heartburn, nausea or vomiting.
- Cough with saliva production. Especially often, coughing attacks occur early in the morning, immediately after waking up, because during sleep a large amount of mucus accumulates in the body of a former smoker.
- Feeling of shortness of breath, like choking.
- A sudden sharp increase in weight by several kilograms. It is this unpleasant consequence that in most cases stops people, especially women, from quitting smoking suddenly.
- Increased anxiety, nervousness.
- Lethargy, apathy and bad mood. In some particularly sensitive persons, as a result of immediate cessation of smoking, severe depression appears, which can be treated only during long-term work with a qualified psychologist.
Is it dangerous to quit smoking suddenly?
Of course, no one wants to experience the condition that occurs in the body as a result of the sudden cessation of smoking.
Most women and men who have taken such a serious step say they felt just awful and constantly wanted to quit everything and smoke a cigarette again.
Expecting various negative consequences very often leads people to argue whether it is really harmful and dangerous to quit smoking suddenly.
Of course, it can not be said that this is unquestionably beneficial, because the body of a heavy smoker in such a situation experiences severe stress and can react to such changes in different ways.
However, it should be understood that while 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-term.
It will take a long 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 ex-smoker again.
Contrary to popular belief, this also applies to sudden weight gain. As a rule, after a sharp cessation of smoking, the metabolism is disturbed, which leads to the appearance of excess pounds. You should not be afraid of this because if you exercise and eat properly, they will disappear just as suddenly as they appeared.
Sharply or gradually: which method of rejection is right for you?
Every person's body is individual, and the method of abrupt cessation of nicotine use is not suitable for everyone. However, based on the results of numerous clinical trials, for smokers with less than 10 years of nicotine dependence, such withdrawal is in most cases quite easy and painless.
If smoking has already become a habit and a man or woman's body takes its dose of nicotine every day for 10 years or even longer, before you suddenly quit smoking, you should think very carefully and consult witha 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 health, presence of chronic diseases;
- state of the nervous system;
- the quality of human nutrition;
- living conditions of the smoker;
- duration of nicotine use;
- the degree of nicotine dependence, 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 abruptly stop using nicotine and quit smoking permanently. Since this can be really dangerous in some cases, a qualified doctor may recommend that you use gradual smoking cessation.
In this case, the smoker should smoothly reduce the number of cigarettes. As a rule, they start by reducing to 10 cigarettes per day, then to 5, then to 3 and finally, the last step is 2 cigarettes per day. Since the body is already accustomed to consuming only two cigarettes a day and that is enough for him, you should finally quit smoking.
Under such circumstances, the smoker's body gradually moves away from the alkaloid and begins to produce acetylcholine independently, which helps to get rid of the addiction smoothly and almost painlessly. At the same time, the negative consequences and unpleasant symptoms appear very little or not at all.
No matter how exactly you decide to quit smoking - suddenly or gradually - be confident in your abilities and make sure you go all the way.
The harm of smoking to the human body is obvious, so you should not delay the moment of stopping it, because after a while it will be much harder to give up this bad habit.