Smokers feel the nicotine-created effects of relaxation, a sense of well-being, and the perceived ability to handle stressors and to increase memory and learning, according to Hisatsugu Miyata of the Department of Psychiatry at the Jikei University School of Medicine. Nicotine enhances and increases the release of hormones that create these sensations, but it also creates a dependence and addiction to these feelings and psychopharmacological effects. If you stop smoking, your withdrawal symptoms will fall into distinct stages.
Immediate Stage
The effects of nicotine withdrawal impact the smoker immediately. Harvey Simon, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School, reports that the signs of nicotine withdrawal appear approximately 30 minutes after the last cigarette was finished. The body's physical reaction, for smokers who regularly smoked a pack of cigarettes a day, included feelings of anxiety after three hours without nicotine. Simon's study asked the 50 subjects to complete complicated tasks that required concentration and close attention. The subjects who continued to smoke did well on the tasks, while the other half of the smokers starved for nicotine had trouble focusing and concentrating on the tasks.
Three to Five Days
The exact nature of withdrawal symptoms differs with the person and the number of cigarettes smoked each day. Smoking and nicotine withdrawal symptoms peak at three to five days for most smokers. Physical symptoms at this stage may include cramps, nausea, headaches, drowsiness during the day, trouble sleeping at night and tension, according to the National Institutes of Health. Most people also feel a sense a feeling of irritability and impatience. In extreme cases, the former smokers may have feelings of panic or temper tantrums. A study conducted at the University of California,San Francisco in 2008 reported withdrawal systems even in light smokers reporting only use of one to six cigarettes a day.
Two Weeks
The National Institutes of Health reports that after a week of avoiding smoking, addiction symptoms diminish. NIH states that "withdrawal is the most uncomfortable part of quitting." Harvard's Simon estimates that the major effects of nicotine withdrawal dissipate approximately two weeks after halting the smoking habit. Minor problems with depression are the most significant remaining withdrawal symptoms, along with anxiety and cravings for nicotine. NIH recommends consulting a health-care provider to explore prescription alternatives to ensure a relapse does not occur.
Long Term
Withdrawal symptoms are magnified with nicotine withdrawal. Feelings of depression, for instance, intensify when people stop smoking; Simon estimates that nearly 25 percent of the group prone to feelings of depression will have magnified problems with the condition. This withdrawal risk will last for approximately six months from the time the nicotine stopped. The condition is so severe that family members and friends may even encourage the smoker to start again to relieve the withdrawal condition. Simon reports in his New York Times health column that only 6 percent of smokers with a predisposition to depression remain smoke-free for a year or more when attempting to break the smoking habit.
