Probably every smoker has thought at least once about the need to give up this bad habit, so every second or third person tries to do it. But attempts to "tie" are not always successful. Not everyone dares to quit smoking abruptly, and the consequences of quitting smoking abruptly can be unpredictable. Is that really so? Maybe it’s much easier to quit smoking once and for all? With the question of why it is impossible to quit smoking abruptly, we will understand this in this article.
Destroying nicotine
Everyone knows that smoking is unsafe, besides, the Ministry of Health does not tire of warning about it. But not everyone knows what damage nicotine and its breakdown products can cause to the human body. What will happen to the body if you don’t stop with that time? What are the consequences of disrupting a normal lifestyle?
Smoking tobacco products can become a trigger in the development of systemic diseases, many of which are deadly. A person who is addicted to nicotine has a shorter life expectancy of almost 10 years than his non-smoking peer. The harm of smoking is obvious:
- Development of oncopathology. Smoking is almost the leading cause of lung cancer. In addition, ingestion of saliva containing nicotine degradation products significantly increases the risk of tumors in the oral cavity, esophagus, stomach, and duodenum.
- Chronic lung disease. The known "smoking bronchitis" can be complicated by such serious conditions as pulmonary emphysema, bronchiectasis, atelectasis.
- Violation of the cardiovascular system. An increase in the load on the heart, under the influence of nicotine, leads to tachycardia, hypertension, heart attack. There is a change in the structure of the vascular walls, the number of atherosclerotic plaques increases, and the risk of blood clots and vascular blockages increases. Obliterative endarteritis develops which leads to amputation of the lower extremities.
- Due to the narrowing of the vessels in the pelvic organs, various disorders develop, and in men premature impotence occurs.
- Due to the harmful effects of nicotine, retinal degeneration gradually develops, the optic nerve suffers, and the smoker risks permanent loss of normal vision.
- In the same way, the auditory nerve is damaged and has a destructive effect on the internal structures of the auditory apparatus. Also, the taste and smell are muted.
- The appearance of smokers is noticeably worse, which is especially pronounced in women. The skin becomes yellowish, premature wrinkles appear, the lips become blue. In the morning you will notice that your facial skin is swollen. It's all a characteristic "smoking face".
In addition, nicotine darkens the teeth and bad breath occurs.
How easy is it to throw away?
Doctors ’opinion on abrupt smoking cessation is also controversial. Yes, you can suddenly quit smoking, and it’s really a lot easier, but that’s only if you’re not a heavy smoker who changes cigarette after cigarette.
People with a smoking history of up to five years may suddenly stop smoking. This is due to the fact that in such a period of time the body still does not have time to acquire a "bouquet" of chronic diseases, and the consequences of rejection will not be very pronounced.
If a person who has smoked for a long time has decided to give up a bad habit and stop smoking cigarettes, it is still better to do it gradually, because this is a very serious stress for the body, which can cause unwanted symptoms or worsening of chronic diseases.
Without nicotine constantly coming from outside, the body must regenerate as quickly as possible to independently produce the required amount of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter with the help of which neuro-muscular transmissions take place. The smoker received acetylcholine from cigarettes, and after a sharp refusal with a long history of smoking, acetylcholine deficiency can lead to irritability, memory impairment, lethargy, rapid fatigue, depression. For this reason, many cannot stop smoking with a break of up to a week.
In addition, quitting smoking immediately and abruptly is psychologically very difficult, and morally unprepared people break down and buy cigarettes again.
The psychological aspect of giving up this addiction is of particular importance during pregnancy. The stress caused by nicotine deficiency has a strong impact on a woman’s morale, but the harm from smoking is much greater. Nicotine and its tar have a toxic effect on the child's body, can lead to fading of pregnancy, birth defects. Therefore, when a woman is responsible for another life, it is worth making the right choice and abruptly quit smoking, without prolonging this process.
Experiencing willpower
Is it possible to quit smoking abruptly? Abruptly or gradually quit smoking? What will happen to the body then? After a sharp cessation of smoking, a person is more acutely aware of everything that is happening to his body, and the consequences for health can be very different. Unpleasant moments and symptoms appear in his life:
The morning cough is getting worse. This is one of the first signals of restructuring - the body tries to cleanse the lungs, get rid of the toxic and harmful ingredients of cigarette smoke and get used to life without smoking.
General weakness and lethargy are the consequences of nicotine withdrawal, which can be expressed in varying degrees in different people. But they are necessarily present in the life of a person who has stopped smoking. In addition to weakness, feelings of confusion, inattention, and forgetfulness can be expressed.
With a long history of smoking, nicotine is so easily accepted in the body that metabolic processes adapt to its constant supply. Therefore, with a sharp cessation of smoking, metabolic processes, returning to the "unusual" normal channel, can cause shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, nausea, bradycardia.
When a smoker with a lot of experience abruptly quits smoking, he has a psychological problem - there is a feeling that he is losing something very personal and important. Therefore, it is important to have the right attitude and, if necessary, work with a psychologist.
The only plus with a sharp throw is that after experiencing the consequences in the acute period, the person begins to intensely lose the desire to smoke a cigarette again. The opinion of people who have stopped smoking on this issue has been established - you need to stop smoking as soon as possible, and it is better to do it under the supervision of a doctor. Even if you really want to smoke at this point, you have to persevere, and after that, obsessive thoughts about reaching for a cigarette will appear less and less.
Nicotine withdrawal
If you abruptly stop smoking, a stronger and younger body will more easily tolerate nicotine deficiency, it will have short-term manifestations of the above symptoms. But you can’t abruptly stop smoking in older people because their defense mechanisms are weakened and nicotine withdrawal can occur. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms:
- increased anxiety;
- uncontrolled outbursts of anger;
- severe irritability, intolerance;
- sudden mood swings with overcoming bad;
- concentration disorders;
- insomnia;
- a constant feeling of hunger that cannot be satisfied.
The state of nicotine withdrawal can be dangerous to health, the stress that the body experiences is especially pronounced on the second or third day of rejection, and especially if the smoker has a heart attack, medication is needed. It is therefore harmful to quit smoking abruptly.
Slowly but surely
When you gradually stop smoking, there are no severe symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Nicotine levels slowly decrease, day by day, cigarettes gradually disappear in the background, and then disappear forever from life. This method of rejection is good with a long experience in smoking, but it has a significant drawback - when a person gradually stops smoking, the person will still feel cravings for nicotine for a very long time, it will begin to weaken for months. In addition, if you do not stop smoking abruptly, all of the above problems will not be relevant to you.
You can deal with a bad smoking habit, the main thing is to have the desire and adjust to success. If you don’t have enough willpower to put away a pack of cigarettes forever, you can use a nicotine patch. To avoid the temptation to reach for a cigarette, take all lighters and ashtrays out of the house, replace them with vases with sweets.
If you smoke in your company, and it is very difficult to cope with the desire to smoke, try to deceive your subconscious - drink any drink through a straw.
Drink green tea more often - it will help to quickly remove toxins from the body, which means that the period of "withdrawal" will be less pronounced.
And, of course, if you decide not to quit smoking abruptly, start playing sports. Active movement and enough muscle load will weaken the desire for nicotine, prevent weight gain, improve your well-being and lift your mood.