Introduction

It's not easy to quit smoking. The nicotine in cigarettes is addicting. Your body craves it because it makes you feel good.

So when you try to stop smoking, you go through nicotine withdrawal. You feel awful, and you may worry about gaining weight. You get cranky and anxious. It can be hard to sleep.

You're not the only one. Most people feel bad when they try to quit. The hardest part is not reaching for a smoke to feel better. Use the tips in this Actionset to help you cope. The information also applies if you use chew or snuff.

Key points

• Symptoms of nicotine withdrawal are worst within the first few days after you quit. They may last a few weeks. Some people crave cigarettes for months.
• Medicines can help you feel better and make it more likely that you won't start smoking again.
• Exercise, healthy eating, counseling, and support groups also may help.

 What are the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal?
 Why does nicotine withdrawal make you feel so bad?
 How can you get through it?
 Where do you go from here?

Talk with your doctor

If you have questions about this information, print it out and take it with you when you visit your doctor. You may want to mark areas or make notes in the margins where you have questions.

Return to topic:

What are the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal?

Nicotine withdrawal can make you depressed, restless, grouchy, and angry. You may feel anxious, and have trouble concentrating, sleeping, and dealing with stress. You may feel hungrier than you did when you were smoking. You crave cigarettes.

Test Your Knowledge

1. When you try to quit smoking, you crave cigarettes. You may feel sad and depressed. Or you may feel grouchy and angry, and have trouble concentrating and dealing with stress.
1. True
   

   The answer is correct

   When people try to quit smoking, nicotine withdrawal symptoms may start as soon as a few hours after their last cigarette. Addiction to nicotine may be as powerful as addiction to heroin, cocaine, or alcohol.

   
2. False
   

   The answer is incorrect

   When people try to quit smoking, nicotine withdrawal symptoms may start as soon as a few hours after their last cigarette. Addiction to nicotine may be as powerful as addiction to heroin, cocaine, or alcohol.

   

Continue to Why does nicotine withdrawal make you feel so bad?
Return to Quitting smoking: Coping with cravings and withdrawal

Why does nicotine withdrawal make you feel so bad?

The symptoms of nicotine withdrawal are your body's way of begging for more nicotine.

When you smoke for a long time, your brain learns to depend on nicotine to help you do things. It helps you concentrate, control your anger and hunger, and relax, for example. In fact, nerve cells in your brain have changed. They are different from those of nonsmokers.

When you stop smoking, your brain has to relearn how to do the things nicotine helped you do. Until it does, you may have trouble concentrating and controlling your anger. You may be hungrier and more stressed than when you smoked.

Test Your Knowledge

1. Cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms are your body's way of begging for more nicotine. Smoking a cigarette might make you feel better for a short time, but your body would continue to crave more nicotine.
1. True
   

   The answer is correct

   Using medicine or doing other things, such as exercising and reducing stress, will make you feel better and increase your chances of quitting for good. They also are much better for your health.

   
2. False
   

   The answer is incorrect

   It's true that cravings and other withdrawal symptoms mean your body is asking for more nicotine. Smoking may be a quick way to get relief, but using medicine or doing other things, such as exercising and reducing stress, will make you feel better and increase your chances of quitting for good. They also are much better for your health.

   

Continue to How can you get through it?
Return to Quitting smoking: Coping with cravings and withdrawal

How can you get through it?

Reduce stress

Many people smoke because nicotine helps them relax. Without the nicotine, they feel uptight and grouchy. But there are better ways to cope with these feelings, and they help you resist cigarette cravings. Try these ideas:

• Take several deep breaths slowly. Hold the last one, then breathe out as slowly as possible. Try to relax all your muscles.
• Try massage, yoga, or the traditional Chinese relaxation exercises tai chi and qi gong.
• Listen to relaxing music. Learn self-hypnosis, meditation, and guided imagery.
• If you can, try to avoid stressful situations when you first stop smoking. Take a break, and take a walk to avoid the stress.

These ideas can help you relax. But it's also good to figure out the cause of your stress. Then, learn how to change the way you react to it. For more, see Stress Management.

Be more active

Physical activity may help reduce your nicotine cravings and relieve some withdrawal symptoms. It doesn't have to be intense activity; mild exercise is fine.¹ Being more active also may help you reduce stress and keep your weight down.

When you have the urge to smoke, do something active instead. Walk around the block. Head to the gym. Do some gardening or housework. Take the dog for a walk. Play with the kids.

For more, see Fitness.

Get plenty of rest

If you have trouble sleeping, try these tips:

• Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
• Take a warm bath or a relaxing walk before bed.
• Avoid drinking alcohol late in the evening, because it can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night.
• Don't have coffee, black tea, or other drinks with caffeine in the 8 hours before you go to bed.
• Do not take naps, unless you are sure they don't keep you awake at night.
• If you can't sleep, talk to your doctor about medicines to help you sleep while you are first going through withdrawal.
• Try meditation or deep breathing before you go to bed.

For more, see Insomnia.

Eat healthy

Quitting smoking increases your appetite. To avoid gaining weight, keep in mind that the secret to weight control is eating healthy food and being more active.

• Don't try to diet. Most people who deprive themselves of food at the same time they are trying to stop smoking have an even harder time of stopping smoking.
• Substitute more fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain foods for foods that have a lot of sugar or fat.

For more, see:

Quitting smoking: Dealing with weight gain.

Reduce demands on your time and energy

Quitting smoking can be harder if you have a lot of work or family demands.

• Try to set your quit date for a time when there are fewer work and family demands.
• Tell your spouse, family, and friends to ask less of you during the first days and weeks that you quit.
• Do something fun with the money you save from not buying cigarettes.
• Be aware that being tired from activity, lack of sleep, or your emotions can make it harder not to smoke.

Get counseling or other support

Don't try to do it alone.

• Call the national quit line at 1-800-QUITNOW and talk to some experts.
• Ask friends and family for help. Ask them not to smoke around you, and try to avoid situations that remind you of smoking.
• See a counselor, doctor, or nurse who is trained in helping people quit. The more counseling you get, the better your chances of quitting.
• Enroll in a stop-smoking class or program.

Use a stop-smoking medicine

Medicines can help you deal with nicotine withdrawal and cigarette cravings. Research shows that they more than double your chances of quitting for good.² They also help prevent weight gain.

• Nicotine replacement medicines can help relieve the physical cravings for nicotine. Nicotine patches, gum, lozenges, and inhalers are helpful, especially when you have a strong craving.
• Medicines without nicotine, such as bupropion, can help you quit smoking. They also can help with depression, if you are depressed.
• Varenicline (Chantix) is a medicine that blocks the effects of nicotine. So, if you do have a cigarette, you don't get the same reward from the nicotine. This reduces your cravings and helps your body learn to cope without cigarettes.

For more on using medicine, see:

Should I take medicine to quit smoking?

Should I use nicotine replacement therapy to quit smoking?

Read how others manage

Many people try to quit smoking many times before they can stop for good.

Research shows that you'll be more successful if you get help. Here's how a few people finally managed to quit.

Michael

It took Michael seven tries to get over his addiction to cigarettes.

“It’s awful. The power of the addiction is very, very strong,” he says. “You just become so frustrated. You feel all this pent-up energy and don't know how to relieve it.

“And you could just go to the corner store and buy a pack and end the misery. ... That’s what I would end up doing.”

He finally managed to quit by using nicotine patches. He's been smoke-free for nearly four years.

Eric

Eric had his first cigarette when he was 12. By age 23, he was tearing through a pack and a half a day.

He tried quitting "cold turkey." He tried nicotine gum. Neither worked for him. So he tried nicotine patches.

The patches made him feel sick for a few days. The first week without cigarettes felt like torture, because his cravings were so strong. But they eased up. Within five weeks, he had managed to stop smoking.

Test Your Knowledge

1. A lot of smokers light up when they're stressed. They say that a cigarette helps them relax. But taking a brisk walk or doing some other physical activity is a much healthier way to deal with stress.
1. True
   

   The answer is correct

   Exercise may help you reduce stress, mood swings, and your cravings for cigarettes. It may help you sleep better and feel less tense. It also may help keep you from gaining weight.

   
2. False
   

   The answer is incorrect

   Exercise may help you reduce stress, mood swings, and your cravings for cigarettes. It may help you sleep better and feel less tense. It also may help keep you from gaining weight.

   

Continue to Where do you go from here?
Return to Quitting smoking: Coping with cravings and withdrawal

Where do you go from here?

You've learned how to deal with the side effects of nicotine withdrawal. Quitting smoking is tough, so if you feel yourself slipping, make sure to ask for help.

Return to Quitting smoking: Coping with cravings and withdrawal