There is a widespread myth among smokers that abstaining from smoking is dangerous and full of serious consequences for the body. Many people prefer to prolong this process, gradually reducing the amount of cigarettes smoked each day. In fact, everything is not so scary and doctors have a definite answer to the question of whether it is possible to quit smoking suddenly. Let's think.
Nicotine as a drug
Nicotine belongs to the category of "fast" drugs - addiction to it appears only in a few months of use, but also quickly abandoned. On average, it takes three to seven days to overcome bad habits at the physiological level.
Tobacco smoke contains about 4000 chemical compounds, 250 of which are toxic. Organisms accustomed to nicotine need a new dose every half hour, after two hours of abstinence, blood pressure can rise, a person will feel nervous. But, if you are too strong and do not smoke for at least three days, things will get easier.
Practice shows that smoking cessation is a dead end. More often than not, smokers still split up and return to the previous dose of nicotine. But abstinence from nicotine abruptly can actually work.
What happens in the body
If you stop taking nicotine daily, the following changes will take place 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 damaged blood vessels during the addiction period will begin.
- Normalization of bowel function. The gastrointestinal microflora is strongly affected by carcinogens inhaled by smokers with smoke. With a sharp rejection of nicotine, stable intestinal function, vitamins and nutrients begin to be better absorbed.
- Immunity recovery. In people with nicotine addiction, the immune system is weak, it can not perform its function fully. You may notice that smokers get sick more often than people without addiction.
- Oxygenation of the body. As lung ventilation improves, more oxygen begins to enter the body. Fatigue disappears, feelings of weakness at work decrease, and sleep improves.
Side Effects
Remember that nicotine is a drug, and smoking is addictive. Like other drug addictions, it does not disappear without a trace, and the first few days one will not feel very comfortable. The following side effects may occur when you suddenly stop smoking:
- Anxiety and irritability. The first effect that will be felt by someone who quits smoking. It may appear after two to three hours of abstinence.
- A little dizzy. It is caused by oxygen starvation - the vascular tone returns to normal, and this takes time. It happens on average every day.
- The onset of dyspnea. Another consequence of oxygen starvation, but here the reason is lung recovery. It disappears completely after a maximum of a month, usually after one to two weeks.
- Appetite decreases. It is most noticeable in the first days of abstinence. Within a week the appetite returned. Moreover, one begins to feel the fullness of the taste of food, which he has never known before.
- Cough. Toxic substances accumulated in the lungs of smokers are removed from the body, and therefore a cough appears. Cough is often accompanied by phlegm and mucus. It diminishes after a month, and after six months it disappears completely.
- Insomnia. Emotional depression due to nicotine deficiency makes it difficult for a person to fall asleep. In some cases, insomnia may occur. This goes away on its own after three to four days, but you can use medication to reduce anxiety and sleep better.
As we have seen, there are no serious side effects that can cause serious damage to the body. Of course, smoking cessation requires a lot of willpower, especially in the early days, but nothing will threaten your health. On the other hand, after only abstinence for a week, a person begins to feel much better than during the use of nicotine.
Psychological factors
For many smokers, it is much easier to deal with physiological side effects than to deal with psychological addiction. Smoking is a whole ritual, everyone has their own customs. Someone smokes a cigarette before breakfast, one does not imagine how you can wait for public transport and do not smoke, and coffee with a cigarette is generally sacred. It is very difficult to let go of such a small habit and completely rebuild your life.
If the urge is not enough to quit smoking suddenly, you can contact your family and friends. Let them divert attention from bad thoughts and provide maximum support. Another option is to ask for help from a psychologist, there is nothing embarrassing in this regard.
Smoking and women
Separate myths in this category concern women - how dangerous is it for them to quit smoking abruptly? For example, it is believed that pregnant women should not release nicotine abruptly. They say that this will cause stress, which will have a negative impact on the baby. In fact, doctors highly recommend that in such a situation it is an immediate relapse of addiction. Every cigarette smoked will affect the development of the fetus.
The situation is similar to the myth that you can not quit smoking during your period. Actually, you can. At the physiological level, no negative things will happen to the body, difficulties can only arise at the psychological level. Another mistake is that abrupt cessation of tobacco will affect the effects of the drugs taken. However, there is not a single case that is scientifically proven when drugs change their pharmacological properties due to the cessation of sharp nicotine intake into the body.
Fans
Positive changes in the body are written above, now we will describe the more significant effects for former smokers:
- Skin looks fresher. The yellowish color of the epidermis disappears, as more minerals, vitamins and oxygen begin to enter the blood. Healthy skin color will return about six months after quitting smoking.
- Sensitivity to taste and smell increases. Smoker's sense of smell and taste do not function at full capacity, the longer a person smokes, the longer the more boring. If you let go of the addiction, you can feel the fullness of taste and smell.
- Increase the tone. Passion, increased activity, lack of fatigue. All this is felt by former smokers. You can forget about illness and feelings of indifference.
In short, we can say - you can suddenly quit smoking! And also necessary. There will be no serious negative effects on the body.