Side Effects « Quit Smoking Now

August 4, 2009

Quit Smoking Side Effects

The first week after quitting smoking is the most difficult, it gets easier and within eight to twelve weeks the comfort of the non-smoking lifestyle begins to take hold. Becoming an ex-smoker is not without side effects however. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug and the withdrawals can be intense. One can expect headaches, anxiety, nausea, and the worst, a craving for tobacco. It’s a chemical dependency, and without maintainance, the body reacts. The side effects are stressful and unpleasant, but they do fade away after just a few days and will be completely gone in just six months.

The first two weeks are critical, seek all the support from family and friends you can find. The side effects to quitting begin just four hours after your last cigarette, generally they peak at three to five days, and then fade out after two weeks. The symptoms are both physical and mental.

The physical side effects should be treated as you would treat any other symptom. The mental symptoms are almost intolerable the first week, you will survive. You may feel clumsy or awkward, even accident prone. You may even exhibit infantile behavior and have a temper tantrum or two. This is why it’s important to tell people you are quitting, they will be tolerant, for awhile.

Depression is also a common short term effect, you could actually find yourself mourning the loss of your cigarettes. Keep a card on hand listing your reasons for quitting, make them positive and uplifting. This same card will come in handy during the mood swings too. It’s important to keep yourself from boredom, it leads to the depression.

Other side effects you can expect are not limited to, insomnia, vagueness, irritability, constipation, gas, cough, dry throat, nasal drip, dizziness, vertigo, fatigue, frustration, restlessness, tightness of the chest, and weight gain. I know this all sounds terrible, but the good news is that it only last a few day, the withdrawal symptoms will go away and serve as a reminder to not smoke so you never have to go through that again. All these side effects are just the body purging itself of all the harmful chemicals.

Acknowledge it’s an addiction, understand the side effects you may experience after you quit smoking, be prepared to experience them and to treat the physical symptoms. Odds are you won’t experience all of them, but do expect to have a few of them. The more prepared you are the easier it will be.

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November 17, 2008

Smoking Side Effects

Filed under: Stop Smoking — Tags: Side Effects, Smoking, Stop Smoking — admin @ 8:30 pm

Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Eighty seven percent of lung cancer deaths are cigarette related. The effects of smoking are also responsible for other various cancers throughout the body, such as throat, mouth, tongue, and skin. Other health problems include, but are not limited to, lung disease, heart and blood vessel disease, stroke, angina, arteriosclerosis, osteoporosis, chronic bronchitis, high blood pressure, impotence, respiratory ailments, and cataracts.

Of the many effects smoking has, according to the American Heart Association, the greatest risk is coronary heart disease. The risk is 2-4 times greater in smokers than in non-smokers. Nicotine from tobacco smoke temporarily increases heart rate and blood pressure, less oxygen-rich blood circulates through the body due to the constriction of the blood vessels. Smoking also leads to stenosis, clumping in the blood vessels, of the heart. All the cardiovascular diseases caused from smoking usually result in heart failure.

Smoking is responsible for one third of cancer deaths in the United States. Countless studies have proved that smoking causes lung cancer, and substantially increases risk of cancer of the larynx, pharynx, oral cavity, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas and suggests a strong association with cancer of the cervix.

Emphysema, another common effect of smoking, is a lung disease involving damage to the alveoli (air sacs). The pollutants found in tobacco smoke damages these sacs. This damage worsens over time affecting the oxygen supply to the body. Symptoms include shortness of breath, chronic cough, fatigue, and wheezing. Other possible effects are respiratory infections, pulmonary hypertension (abnormally high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries), anxiety, edema, and death.

COPD, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a lung disease that makes breathing difficult, is a lung inflammation that destroys alveoli (air sacs). Fifteen to twenty percent of smokers will develop COPD. Symptoms usually include, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath that lasts for months or years, and wheezing.

Another way smoking effects the body is it lowers the body’s ability to heal. Studies show that smokers have a lower survival rate after surgery due to the damage of host defenses and reduced immune response. Smokers also have a greater risk of infection and postoperative pneumonia.

Of the more than four thousand harmful chemicals in tobacco, more than fifty are known to cause cancer. Not to mention the arsenic, cyanide, formaldehyde, and ammonia bromide, which is used in toilet cleaners are all included in each cigarette, each with their own effect on the body.

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