What Happens When You Quit Smoking

What to Expect: These are the effects on your body and mind when they no longer get regular nicotine hits. They are normal and temporary.
Common Symptoms: Nicotine cravings, increased appetite, restlessness, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and light-headedness.
Timeline: The first few days are the most challenging, but things usually start to improve after the third or fourth day.
Types of Cravings: Constant, underlying craving and sudden urges triggered by activities/feelings associated with smoking.
NRT Relief: Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) provides nicotine (without the harmful chemicals of cigarettes) to reduce cravings and ease the transition. Patches provide a slow, steady release for background cravings, while mouth sprays give a quick release for intense cravings.
Quit Plan Benefits: Putting together a quit plan can help you stay focused, visualise success and stay motivated.

Why it Happens: Withdrawal symptoms (restlessness, irritability, disturbed sleep) can make you feel worse initially.
Importance of Perseverance: The urge to smoke will reduce over time, even though it can still be strong several months after your last cigarette.
Focus on the Benefits: Remember that health benefits are on their way, and each craving resisted brings you closer to quitting for good.

After 20 minutes: Your pulse could be starting to get back to normal.
After 48 hours: All the harmful carbon monoxide in your system could be flushed out.
After 3 to 9 months: Your lung function could increase by up to 10%, helping you breathe easier.
After 1 year smoke-free: Risk of a heart attack could have halved compared to a smoker.

Reduced Second-hand Smoke: Quitting protects loved ones from the dangers of second-hand smoke, including increased risk of the same diseases as smokers.
Healthier Children: Children are less likely to have breathing problems and asthma if they live in a smoke-free environment.
Healthier Pregnancy: Smoking while pregnant can harm your baby, so quitting is beneficial for both mother and child.

Why it Happens: Smoking can speed up metabolism and suppress appetite. Quitting can lead to replacing smoking with snacking.
Managing Weight Gain: Regular exercise, smaller portions, and healthy snacks can help minimise weight gain.

Reduced Anxiety and Depression: Quitting can improve mental health.
Breaking the Cycle: Smoking causes dopamine release, leading to a withdrawal cycle that increases anxiety. Quitting breaks this cycle.

Relapse is more likely in the first few weeks: If you slip-up, it’s worth taking the time to think about why you had a cigarette, and what triggered the urge to smoke. Learning from these mistakes means you’ll be better prepared next time you’re in a similar position. Most of all, try to stay positive and keep believing you can reach your goal.