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 definite opinion on this matter.
Some doctors believe that nicotine starvation, which occurs in the body of a smoker as a result of an abrupt 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 quitting smoking gradually simply do not make any sense.
In order to avoid lengthy disputes and reasoning, each person should think very carefully about it and determine which method is right for him. In any case, it should be understood that smoking cessation is only possible 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 nicotine cessation, every smoker needs to know what will happen to his body if he quits smoking abruptly.
What Happens If You Quit Smoking Suddenly: 8 Negative Consequences
Since a heavy smoker is constantly receiving a certain dose of nicotine, it forms an incredibly strong physical and psychological addiction. Of course, if the body completely unexpectedly deprives him of some kind of "feeding", a withdrawal syndrome or "withdrawal" can begin.
Tobacco smoking is similar to drug addiction, which is why quitting can be difficult for some people.
Having abruptly quit smoking, the addict may experience a variety of negative feelings, but they are all temporary. This is precisely the body's reaction, and not its permanent state in the future. The additional health benefits of rejection are far more significant than the temporary discomfort and 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 ailments.
- Dizziness and high intensity headaches, which are associated with drops in blood pressure caused by abrupt abandonment.
- Violation of the gastrointestinal tract, manifested in the form of diarrhea, constipation, heartburn, nausea or vomiting.
- Cough with production of sputum. Especially coughing attacks occur early in the morning, immediately after waking up, because a large amount of mucus accumulates in the body of a former smoker during sleep.
- Feeling breathless, like suffocating.
- An unexpected strong weight gain of several kilograms. It is this unfortunate consequence that in most cases prevents people, especially women, from quitting smoking abruptly.
- Increased anxiety, irritability.
- Lethargy, apathy and bad mood. In some particularly susceptible people, severe depression occurs as a result of immediate smoking cessation, which can only be addressed 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 the unexpected cessation of smoking.
Most women and men who have taken such a serious step claim that they simply feel terrible and constantly want to quit everything and smoke a cigarette again.
The expectation of various negative consequences very often prompts people to question whether it is really harmful and dangerous to quit smoking abruptly.
Of course, it cannot be said that this is unequivocally useful, 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 far more harm to the body. Furthermore, all of the above negative effects are only short-term.
It will take quite 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 shouldn't be afraid of this, because if you train and eat right, they will disappear as suddenly as they appeared.
Abruptly or gradually: Which rejection method is right for you?
The body of each person 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, for smokers with less than 10 years of nicotine addiction, such withdrawal is quite easy and painless in most cases.
If smoking tobacco has already become a habit and a man or woman's body receives its dose of nicotine every day for 10 years or more, before abruptly giving up cigarettes, it is necessary 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 health, the presence of chronic ailments;
- 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 suddenly and unexpectedly stop using nicotine and quit smoking forever. Since this can be really dangerous in some cases, a qualified doctor may advise you to use the phasing out of tobacco.
In this case, the smoker should gradually reduce the number of cigarettes. As a rule, they start by reducing to 10 cigarettes a day, then 5, then 3, and finally the last step is 2 cigarettes a day. After the body is already used to consuming only two cigarettes a day, and that's 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 get rid of addiction smoothly and almost painlessly. At the same time, the negative consequences and unpleasant symptoms appear slightly or are not noticeable at all.
Regardless of how exactly you decide to quit smoking, abruptly or gradually, trust your abilities and make sure you go through with it.
The harm of smoking to the human body is obvious, so you should not delay the time to stop it, because after a while it will be much more difficult to give up this bad habit.