Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms & Recovery

The first few weeks after quitting smoking are usually the most difficult and it's safe to say
that it normally takes at least 8-12 weeks before a person starts to feel comfortable with their
new lifestyle change of being an ex-smoker. Withdrawal from nicotine, an addictive drug
found in tobacco, is characterized by symptoms that include headache, anxiety, nausea and
a craving for more tobacco. Nicotine creates a chemical dependency, so that the body
develops a need for a certain level of nicotine at all times.

Unless that level is maintained, the body will begin to go through withdrawal. For tobacco
users trying to quit, symptoms of withdrawal from nicotine are unpleasant and stressful, but
only temporary. Most withdrawal symptoms peak 48 hours after you quit and are completely
gone in six months.
When you are experiencing symptoms of recovery (withdrawal), remind yourself of why you
are quitting; write your reasons on a card and keep it with you. Remind yourself that whatever
discomfort you are experiencing is only a tiny fraction of the probable discomfort associated
with continued smoking (i.e. Painful diseases like cancer, surgery, chemotherapy, emphysema
etc.).

Withdrawal in the First Two Weeks

Because the first two weeks are so critical in determining quitting failure rates, smokers
should not be shy about seeking all the help they can during this period.

Withdrawal symptoms begin as soon as four hours after the last cigarette, generally peak in
intensity at three to five days, and disappear after two weeks. They include both physical and
mental symptoms.

Physical Symptoms.

During the quitting process people should consider the following physical symptoms of
withdrawal as they were recuperating from a disease and treat them accordingly as they
would any physical symptoms:

Tingling in the hands and feet

Sweating

Intestinal disorders (cramps, nausea)

Headache

Cold symptoms as the lungs begin to clear (sore throats, coughing, and other signs of
colds and respiratory problem)

The first few weeks after quitting smoking are usually the most difficult and it's safe to say that
it normally takes at least 8-12 weeks before a person starts to feel comfortable with their new
lifestyle change of being an ex-smoker. Withdrawal from nicotine, an addictive drug found in
tobacco, is characterized by symptoms that include headache, anxiety, nausea and a craving
for more tobacco. Nicotine creates a chemical dependency, so that the body develops a need
 for a certain level of nicotine at all times. Unless that level is maintained, the body will begin to
go through withdrawal similar to alcohol addiction withdrawal. For tobacco users trying to quit,
symptoms of withdrawal from nicotine are unpleasant and stressful, but only temporary. Most
withdrawal symptoms peak 48 hours after you quit and are completely gone in six months.

Mental and Emotional Symptoms.

Tension and craving build up during periods of withdrawal, sometimes to a nearly intolerable
point. One European study found that the incidence of workplace accidents increases on No
Smoking Day, a day in which up to 2 million smokers either reduce the amount they smoke or
abstain altogether.

Nearly every moderate to heavy smoker experiences more than one of the following strong
emotional and mental responses to withdrawal.

Feelings of being an infant: temper tantrums, intense needs, feelings of dependency,

a state of near paralysis.
Insomnia

Mental confusion

Vagueness

Irritability

Anxiety

Depression is common in the short and long term. In the short term it may mimic the
feelings of grief felt when a loved one is lost. As foolish as it sounds, a smoker should
plan on a period of actual mourning in order to get through the early withdrawal
depression.

NICOTINE WITHDRAWL SYNDROME

When any person who is addicted to smoking for a very long time, quit smoking abruptly some
symptoms are seen which are associated with the quitting. The symptoms occur because the body is
accustomed to nicotine which gets into the body through cigarette. The nicotine contains many
neurotransmitters which give the feelings of relaxation, pleasure and happiness. But when these
neurotransmitters stop getting into the bloodstream, the smokers will feel the opposite feelings. These
negative feelings may make the person return to smoking.

When the smoker quit smoking, within the next 24 hours the nicotine withdrawal symptoms occur as it
takes about 24 hours for the body to throw out all the nicotine. These symptoms are at their peak in
the first week and may continue for 2- 5 weeks. Some of the people may find that some symptoms
may continue for more than two months.

Some of the common nicotine withdrawal symptoms may include:

Anger: As the dopamine etc numb some parts of the brains; the smokers mostly don t feel any
type of anger. They are calm as cigarettes give the feeling of pleasure but when he quit smoking, he
feels anger at everything that doesnt occur as he wishes. The unreasonable anger sometimes is very
dangerous. He gets angry and looses his shirt at the smallest provocation.

Anxiety: The person who quits smoking may feel unnatural anxiety for every small thing. He may
get even anxious for others problems. This anxiety gives him a fear factor which may get
aggravated in the first few weeks.

Depression: The person may have wide mood swings and depression might be an everyday
feature. These people are sometimes seen crying without any reason and may suffer from suicidal
tendencies.

No concentration: Concentration level decreases and so does the Span of Attention. The quitter
may not be able to do any job just after quitting cigarette but again this is a very short phenomenon.

Insomnia: Insomnia occurs as the relaxing chemicals are not able to get into the blood stream.
There fore the person may feel restless and insomnia.

Craving: The craving for nicotine is very high. Unless the smoker has a great will power, he won t
be able to quit smoking. The brain orders the body to get the nicotine and when it is not provided, the
person may become aggressive.

Impaired performance: For a few days because of the changes in the body due to quitting, the
performance in every field declines as the person has less concentration.

Hunger: The hunger increases a lot because of quitting which may cause weight gain. But this is
also a temporary phase which passes within a few weeks.

AIDS TO QUIT SMOKING

Smoking cigarette is one of the most common addictions found in the world. The people smoke to
relieve their so-called stress and troubles. There are mainly three forms of smoking- Social smoking,
habitual smoking and passive smoking. Social smoking doesn t require any quitting aids and passive
smoking has no aids to quit therefore the aids to quit smoking is only available for habitual smokers.

There are many aids which are available in the market which help the smoker to quit smoking. But
unless the smoker has the will and determination to quit, nothing can help him. The smoker should
make up his mind that he needs to quit smoking. For that he has to understand how harmful smoking
is and how smoking affects the body. Once he understands and decides to quit there are following
quitting aids available:

1. Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) - NRT is one of the most favored aids to quit smoking. In
this the nicotine intake is replaced with other non toxic ingredients so that the patient slowly
withdraws from nicotine. The dose of nicotine is gradually reduced to check the nicotine withdrawal
symptoms. Unlike cigarettes that have many carcinogenic and poisonous chemicals, NRTs have only
nicotine in them.

2. Nicotine Patch- Nicotine patch is a square patch which is applied on the skin devoid of hair and is
dry and clean. The patch contains doses of nicotine which goes into the body and checks the nicotine
withdrawal symptoms. The patch is between 1 and 2 square. The size of patch depends upon the
dose of nicotine. These trans-dermal patches are to be used for 16 hours to 24 hours and a fresh
patch has to be applied.

3. Nicotine Gum: this comes in a chewing gum form and is used as an NRT. Sometimes people get
addicted, to nicotine gums, which is very hard to control.

4. Nicotine lozenge: these are flavored candies which contain nicotine in very small dose. This also
works as an aid to quit smoking.

5. Nicotine inhaler and nasal spray: the nicotine inhaler is inhaled and the smell of nicotine helps
the person to satisfy his nicotine craving. The nicotine nasal spray is also used for the same purpose,
only that it is sprayed inside the nose rather than inhaled.

6. Nicotine free drugs: there are some drugs which are administered by the doctors for the
cessation of smoking. These nicotine free drugs include Bupropion and Varenicline Tartrate. But these
should never be taken unless the doctor prescribes them.

A LTE RN ATIV E ME TH O DS TO QU IT S MO K IN G
There are many million people all over the world who are addicted to smoking. Out of those, many
people are interested to quit smoking for their own benefit. Quitting smoking is a very difficult task
and it needs a lot of self control and willpower to quit smoking. There are many people who do not get
much help through the nicotine replacement therapy, for them some alternative methods are available
which are as effective as the conventional therapies.

1. Hypnosis- hypnosis has been found quite effective in controlling the urge to smoke. In this the
habitual behaviors are broken and replaced with new behaviors. The patient is put into deep relaxing
state and with suggestion, the behavior is changed. Hypnosis has shown a success rate of about 40%.
People who attended the full treatment session by highly trained hypno-therapist have shown a
positive result. About 81% patients quit smoking after the full treatment and 48% didn t take up
smoking again even after one year.

2. Acupuncture: it is a traditional therapy practiced in china. Tiny nails are pierced at certain points
to stimulate the nerves there. These nerves when stimulated can treat the particular ailment. For
smoking problems, ears have been found the most effective area to stimulate. It trims down the
craving for cigarette a lot. The needles can also be used on feet and crown of the head. The
acupuncturist determines the general health condition of the smoke and tries to treat the unhealthy
parts for complete recovery.

3. Aversive therapies: In this therapy, the patients are given rapid smoking. The aim is to dissociate
smoking from pleasant feelings. Once a person is asked to smoke every few minutes and concentrate
on the unpleasant feeling of cigarette, he starts feeling nauseated. After this it takes very long time
for him to smoke even a single cigarette. He begins detesting the taste.

4. Meditation: The person starts smoking mainly to reduce stress or any anxiety. Through yoga and
meditation the stress and anxiety can be completely controlled. This helps the person to reduce
smoking and ultimately quit it as soon as the stress goes away. Meditation helps in overall well being
of the person and it is a good method for quitting smoking.
5. Exercise and massage: exercise and massage keeps the body fit and many toxins are flushed out
of the body. This helps in removing anxiety and the craving for nicotine. Therefore they can help the
person to quit smoking.

It is always more effective to have alternative therapies administered with NRT for better and faster
results

B r e a t h i n g Tec h n i q u e s c a n h e l p y o u S t o p S m o k i n g
Here is a very simple and healthy method of smoking cessation. It will also be a way to quit the
smoking habit without it costing a lot of money or time. This is a simple method called Focusing on
Breathing. Reports from those who have been using this method say that without doing anything
else except practicing this method in the morning and the evening, their need to smoke has gradually
decreased until they were able to quit completely.

When a person smokes, fifty percent of the air that they breathe is filtered through their cigarette into
their lungs. To overcome urges to smoke, take three deep breaths. Try to breathe from that place
which is just under the belly button. This will add oxygen into the bloodstream and will change the
way you are feeling immediately. This will give you the strength to overcome cravings and make it
easier to stop smoking permanently.

The following are methods you can use to focus on your breathing. Try keeping your eyes closed while
you practice these techniques for greater success. The first one is to let the tip of your thumb touch
the tip of your little finger. While counting in your mind, breathe in and out three times. The first out
breath is one; the second out breath is two and so on. Do these three breaths with each of the next
fingertips. Now use the other hand and do the same thing. Keep practicing this by switching hands.

The second method is using the fingers without needing to count. There are three segments on each
finger that are separated by creases. Again using the tip of the thumb, touch each segment as you
breathe in and out. Work your way through the three segments of each finger and then do the two of
the thumb using the index finger tip for the thumb. When you are finished with one hand do the same
on the other hand. Keep practicing this technique. It is not necessary to count as you go.

You can also do the breaths without the use of your fingers. Count in your mind as you breathe being
aware of the coolness that taking in each breath causes in your nose. Each time you breathe out it
counts as one. Eventually your mind will move on to other thoughts and you will lose count. When this
happens, just start over.

Now you can just concentrate on breathing by being aware of the coolness in your nose as you
breathe in and the warmth as you breathe out. No fingers and no counting, just breathing. Focusing
on breathing will make you feel better and help with the urges to smoke.

DANGERS OF PASSIVE SMOKING

Passive smoking was not considered much of danger till recently. It was thought that only the smokers
suffer from the dangers of smoking. But now it has been found that people who inhale the smoke of
the cigarette i.e. are the passive smokers suffer more than the active smoker. The smokers exhale the
toxic smoke after taking the puff. It was believed that children are the greatest sufferers of passive
smoking, but now it is an established fact that even the adults and more specifically the senior citizens
are also badly affected. Because of the imminent danger of passive smoking, it is banned in the public
places in most of the countries in the world.

Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) or passive smoke is a dangerous mixture of contaminants, side
stream smoke that is the smoke generate due to lightning of cigarettes and mainstream smoke which
is the smoke exhaled by the smokers. There are about 4000 chemical compounds in the ETS which
makes them more carcinogenic than active smoking.

The ETS, being an irritant causes lot of irritations like eye irritation, cough, headache dizziness, sore-
throat and nausea. Only half an hour of exposure to ETS can reduce the coronary blood flow. The risk
of heart attack and lung cancer is same in active as well passive smokers. More than 50% of the
children all over the world have a smoker in their home so the risk to them is quite high.

Passive smoking has the following effects:

Lower Respiratory Tract (LRT) diseases like pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma risks increases in
passive smokers.

The middle ear infection, behavioral problems and cardiovascular impairment occur in children due
to the exposure to ETS. It has also been found that children who are passive smokers also suffer from
mental retardation and deficient in reasoning and reading skills.

The heart beat rate increases and there is a clear risk of heart attack among the passive smokers.
The risk of lung cancer increases by 25% in the passive smokers.

How to protect from passive smoking:

It is important that the active smokers realize that they are causing danger to the life of their loved
ones and other passive smokers so they should quit cigarette at the earliest.

Never smoke in the room where there are small children or old people.

Appeal the smokers not to smoke around you..

Children should be taught to move away from the places where someone is smoking.

The restaurants which you frequent should be smoke free.

It is the responsibility of both the active and passive smokers to avoid ETS.