Nicotine withdrawal

The addictive nature of nicotine is one of the biggest reasons people start smoking. 

While small amounts of nicotine aren’t harmful to healthy adults, it’s still an addictive substance that makes you reliant on cigarettes, which are bad for you.

If you’ve been smoking regularly for a long time, your body gets used to nicotine, meaning you’ll need more of it to feel normal. 

When you’re feeling on edge and desperate for a smoke, that’s your body craving nicotine, which is a clear sign of withdrawal.

Withdrawal symptoms will ease over time, but it takes a lot of effort and patience. 

If you’re lucky, you might find that the physical symptoms fade within a few days to a week. Just be prepared for the fact that the urge to smoke might stick around for a bit longer.

Click here to learn more about withdrawal.

Smoking triggers

When you smoke, you associate certain things, feelings, and people with your smoking. These things may subconsciously make you want to smoke, and are called ‘triggers’.

You can anticipate these triggers and figure out ways to deal with them:

  • Seek out places where you can’t smoke. In Australia these aren’t hard to find, but focus on avoiding areas where smoking is permitted, such as beer gardens.
  • Spend more time with people who don’t smoke. If your close friends and family are smokers, ask them not to smoke around you, and don’t join them when they go to smoke.
  • Keep your hands and mouth busy. Play a board game, throw the footy, eat a healthy snack, or chew gum.
  • Take a deep breath and think. Think about why you want to give up smoking, think about your upcoming savings, and most importantly, think about the people in your life who will be happier and healthier because you quit.

Click here to learn more about triggers.