There is a widespread myth among smokers that abrupt smoking cessation is harmful and has serious consequences for the body. Many people prefer to prolong this process by gradually reducing the number of cigarettes smoked per day. In fact, everything is not so scary and doctors have an unambiguous answer to the question of whether it is possible to abruptly quit smoking. Let's find out.
Nicotine as a medicine
Nicotine belongs to the category of "fast" drugs - addiction to it appears only after a few months of use, but also quickly abandoned. On average, it can take three to seven days to overcome a bad habit on a physiological level.
Tobacco smoke contains about 4, 000 chemical compounds, of which 250 are poisonous. The body, accustomed to nicotine, requires new doses every hour and a half, after two hours of abstinence may increase blood pressure, a person will feel nervous. However, if you overcome and do not smoke for at least three days, then things will become much easier.
Practice shows that cigarette removal is a dead end. Most often, the smoker still breaks down and returns to the previous dose of nicotine. But abrupt cessation of nicotine can actually work.
What happens in the body
If you give up the daily portion of nicotine, the following changes will occur in the human body:
- Increased blood flow. Blood begins to flow more actively to the brain and heart. After a while, the blood pressure will stabilize and the recovery of the blood vessels that were damaged during the period of addiction will begin.
- Normalize bowel function. The gastrointestinal microflora suffers a lot from carcinogens that the smoker inhales with smoke. With abrupt rejection of nicotine, the intestines stabilize, vitamins and nutrients begin to be better absorbed.
- Restore immunity. In people with nicotine addiction, the immune system is weakened, it is unable to fully perform its functions. You have probably noticed that smokers get sick much more often than people without addiction.
- Oxygenation of the body. Due to improved lung ventilation, more oxygen begins to enter the body. Fatigue disappears, the feeling of weakness during the working day decreases, and sleep improves.
Side effects
Remember that nicotine is a drug and smoking is an addiction. Like any other addiction, it does not disappear without a trace and the first days a person will not feel very comfortable. The following side effects may occur when you suddenly quit tobacco:
- Anxiety and irritability. The first effect that a person who quits smoking will feel. It can occur after two to three hours of abstinence.
- Slight dizziness. It is caused by oxygen starvation - vascular tone is normalized and it takes time. It is held on average per day.
- Start of dyspnea. Another consequence of oxygen starvation, but here the reason is the recovery of the lungs. It disappears completely after a maximum of a month, usually after one to two weeks.
- Decreased appetite. It is most pronounced in the first days of abstinence. Within a week, the appetite returns. Moreover, one begins to feel the fullness of the taste of food that one did not even know before.
- Cough. Toxic substances accumulated in the smoker's lungs are removed from the body and therefore a cough occurs. Cough is often accompanied by sputum and mucus. It decreases after a month, and after six months it completely disappears.
- Insomnia. Emotional depression from lack of nicotine makes it difficult for a person to fall asleep. In some cases, insomnia may occur. It disappears on its own after three to four days, but you can use medications to suppress anxiety and better sleep.
As we can see, there are no serious side effects that can cause serious damage to the body. Of course, abrupt cessation of smoking will require a lot of willpower, especially in the early days, but nothing will endanger your health. On the contrary, only after a week of abstinence a person begins to feel much better than the entire period of nicotine consumption.
Psychological factor
It is much easier for many smokers to overcome physiological side effects than to deal with psychological dependence. Smoking is a whole ritual, everyone has their own. Some people smoke a cigarette before breakfast, some do not imagine how you can wait for public transport and not smoke, and coffee with a cigarette is generally sacred. It can be extremely difficult to give up such small habits and fully restore your life.
If the willpower is not enough to abruptly quit smoking, you can contact your family and friends. Let them distract from bad thoughts and provide maximum support. Another option is to seek help from a psychologist, there is nothing shameful about that.
Smoking and women
A separate myth from this category affects women - how harmful is it for them to quit smoking suddenly? For example, it is believed that pregnant women should not abruptly give up nicotine. It is said that this will cause stress, which will negatively affect the baby. In fact, doctors strongly recommend that in such a situation to immediately abandon the addiction. Any cigarette smoked will affect the development of the fetus.
The situation is the same with the myth that you can't quit smoking during menstruation. In fact, you can. On a physiological level, nothing negative will happen to the body, difficulties can only arise on a psychological level. Another misconception is that abrupt cessation of tobacco will affect the effect of medication. However, there is not a single scientifically proven case where drugs change their pharmacological properties due to the abrupt cessation of nicotine intake in the body.
Buffs
The positive changes in the body are written above, now we will describe the effects that are more noticeable for an ex-smoker:
- The skin looks fresher. The yellowish tinge of the epidermis disappears as more minerals, vitamins and oxygen begin to enter the bloodstream. Healthy skin color will return about six months after quitting.
- Increases sensitivity to taste and smell. The smoker's sense of smell and taste buds do not work at full capacity, the longer a person smokes, the more dull they become. If you give up addiction, you can feel the fullness of taste and smell.
- Improve the tone. Vigilance, increased activity, lack of fatigue. All this is felt by an ex-smoker. You can forget about illness and feelings of apathy.
In summary, we can say - you can suddenly quit smoking! And even necessary. There will be no serious negative consequences for the body.