Before any person who has decided to quit smoking, the question always arises of how to do it well: abruptly or gradually. In fact, even doctors do not have a definitive opinion on this matter.
Some doctors believe that nicotine starvation, which occurs in the body of a smoker as a result of abruptly quitting 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 - say goodbye to this addiction once and for all, and all methods of gradually quitting simply do not make any sense.
In order to avoid long arguments and reasoning, each person should think it over very well 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.
In turn, 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 abruptly.
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 dependence. Of course, if the body completely unexpectedly deprives it of a kind of "nutrition", a withdrawal or "withdrawal" syndrome can begin.
Smoking tobacco is similar to drug addiction, so quitting can be difficult for some people.
Having abruptly stopped smoking, the addict may encounter 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 additional health benefits of rejection are much 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 smoking cessation.
- Violation of the gastrointestinal tract, manifested in the form of diarrhea, constipation, heartburn, nausea or vomiting.
- Cough with sputum production. Especially often coughing fits 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.
- Sensation of shortness of breath, like suffocation.
- An unexpected sharp increase in weight by several kilograms. It is this unpleasant consequence that in most cases prevents people, especially women, from quitting abruptly.
- Increased anxiety, irritability.
- Lethargy, apathy and bad mood. In some particularly susceptible people, as a result of immediate smoking cessation, severe depression occurs, which can only be treated during long-term work with a qualified psychologist.
Is it dangerous to quit smoking abruptly?
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 say that they felt very bad and constantly wanted to give up everything and smoke a cigarette again.
The expectation of various negative consequences very often leads people to discuss 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 much more damage to the body. Also, all of the above negative effects are only short-term.
It will take quite 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 unexpected weight gain. As a rule, after sharply quitting 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.
Abruptly or gradually: which rejection method is right for you?
Each person's body is individual, and the unexpected nicotine cessation method is not suitable for everyone. However, according to the results of numerous clinical trials, for smokers with less than 10 years of nicotine addiction, such withdrawal in most cases is quite easy and painless.
If smoking tobacco has already become a habit, and a man's or woman's body receives its dose of nicotine every day for 10 years or even more, before abruptly giving up cigarettes, you should think 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;
- smoker's living conditions;
- duration of nicotine use;
- the degree of addiction to nicotine, 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 he suddenly and unexpectedly stops using nicotine and gives up cigarettes for good. Since this can be really dangerous in some cases, a qualified doctor may recommend that you use gradual cessation of tobacco.
In this case, the smoker should gently reduce the number of cigarettes. As a general rule, they start by cutting down to 10 cigarettes a day, then 5, then 3, and finally the last step is 2 cigarettes a day. After the body is already accustomed to the consumption of only two cigarettes a day, and this is enough for him, you should finally stop smoking.
Under such circumstances, the smoker's body gradually weans itself off the alkaloid and begins to independently produce acetylcholine, which helps to smoothly and almost painlessly get rid of the addiction. At the same time, negative consequences and unpleasant symptoms appear very slightly or are not noticeable at all.
Regardless of how you decide to quit, abruptly or gradually, trust his abilities and make sure you see it through to the end.
The damage that smoking produces for the human body is evident, so you should not delay the moment of quitting, because after a while it will be much more difficult to give up this bad habit.