Obstacles to quitting
Most smokers already know that smoking is harmful to their health and want to stop. Many try quitting—one, two, three, or maybe as many as eight or 10 times. Quitting often takes several attempts because it is more than a matter of willpower. When you smoke, your body and your mind become addicted. You have to overcome both of these aspects of the addiction to give up smoking for good. Later in this report, we’ll discuss ways to cope with both the physical and mental hurdles to quitting. For now, let’s take a look at the obstacles that someone who wants to quit is up against.
Physical withdrawal
Physical withdrawal symptoms make stopping any addictive drug uncomfortable.
Nicotine—the addictive drug in tobacco—is one of the most difficult to beat. People who try to cut back or quit smoking usually experience one or more withdrawal symptom. Symptoms can arrive within a few hours of the last cigarette and include:
- cravings for a cigarette
- dizziness
- irritability
- anxiety
- depression
- headache
- inability to concentrate
- impatience
- anger
- excessive hunger
- trouble sleeping
- tiredness.
The first two or three days after quitting are the worst for withdrawal symptoms. After you make it through the initial hurdle, expect your symptoms to wane gradually over a month or more.
Mental withdrawal
For many people, smoking is part of a daily routine. Certain events, such as finishing a meal or having the first cup of morning coffee, become associated with lighting up a cigarette. In order to quit, a smoker must break these links.
Emotional pains
Everyone experiences unpleasant feelings from time to time, such as anger, boredom, or frustration. Smoking is one way people handle those feelings. When smokers try to quit, they need alternative ways to cope.
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