Stop smoking cold turkey or the sudden and complete withdrawal from the habit is perhaps the hardest thing for any smoker, heavy or light, to achieve. Most often the withdrawal symptoms prove to be too hard to overcome and the individual draws back to the habit. However, it is stated that stop smoking cold turkey is the method used by 80% to 90% of individuals who manage to quit the habit successfully.
Cigarettes contain nicotine, a chemical that is highly addictive. Once a smoker quits the habit, nicotine cravings kick in and they prove to be very difficult to overcome. In addition to the nicotine craving, withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, insomnia, fatigue and headaches may occur and may persist heavily during the first few days when one decides to stop smoking cold turkey. Certain methods such as Nicotine Replacement Therapy may be able to ease the symptoms and cravings by providing the body with a dose of nicotine through products such as nicotine gums, patches and sprays.
Although this is an effective way to deal with the withdrawal symptoms, it promotes nicotine addiction in the body. An individual who was previously addicted to a cigarette may now be addicted to nicotine gum or patches. Although the body is given a lower dose of nicotine to reduce merely the stop smoking cold turkey withdrawal symptoms, the body demands the old level of nicotine. Thus, this creates a new level of required nicotine in the body. Therefore, it should be noted that using these products will only place an individual in a chronic state of drug withdrawal.
Only two methods exist to relieve this state, one is to stop the administering of nicotine completely and the other is to get back to smoking. One should remember that the withdrawal symptoms would only be highly difficult to deal with during the first two weeks and it would gradually decrease after that. Therefore, stop smoking cold turkey is probably the best and effective way to quit the habit.
Finding support and guidance would help an individual immensely to stop smoking cold turkey; friends and family members would be ideal for this task and would help one to overcome the habit successfully. In addition, joining a support group or undergoing therapy and counseling sessions would also be helpful to an individual who wants to stop smoking cold turkey.
One should remember that quitting the habit, especially to stop smoking cold turkey is not at all an easy task. It takes determination and a whole lot of will power.
