How to clean your body of nicotine? When will the body return to normal after quitting smoking? And when does the desire for this harmful habit end after quitting it? And what symptoms appear next?
When does the body return to normal after quitting smoking?
According to the American Cancer Society, within minutes of you stop smoking after the last cigarette you smoked, your body begins to recover, as follows:
- 20 minutes after quitting: heart rate and blood pressure drop.
- A few days after quitting smoking: the level of carbon monoxide in the blood drops to the normal range.
- After two to three weeks after quitting: blood circulation improves and lung function increases.
- After one to 12 months from the time of quitting: cough and shortness of breath decrease. The tiny hair-like structures (cilia) that move mucus out of the lungs begin to regain their normal function, increasing their ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs and reduce the risk of infection.
- One to two years after quitting: Your risk of a heart attack drops dramatically.
- 5 to 10 years after quitting: Your risk of oral, throat and throat cancer is halved. The risk of stroke is also reduced.
- 10 years after quitting: The risk of lung cancer is about half that of a person who still smokes (after 10 to 15 years). The risk of bladder, esophagus and kidney cancer decreases.
- 15 years after quitting: Your risk of coronary heart disease is close to that of non-smoking heart disease.
When does the desire to smoke end after quitting?
Nicotine cravings can begin 30 minutes after the last cigarette, which varies depending on how much and how long you smoked. Cravings to return to smoking peak within two to three days, and usually go away after 3 to 5 minutes. The urge to return to smoking usually stops after 4 to 6 weeks.
How to deal with the urge to smoke after quitting?
- Distract yourself, which usually begs you to return to this harmful habit, by focusing on something else.
- Postpone doing anything about smoking cravings until they go away.
- Take 20 deep breaths.
- Drink a cold glass of water or fruit juice.
- You may confuse food cravings with nicotine cravings, and vice versa, so it's important to eat 3 regular meals every day.
What symptoms appear after quitting smoking?
Common symptoms — called withdrawal symptoms — when you quit smoking include:
- Smoking cravings.
- Feeling angry or upset.
- Feeling of stress and anxiety.
- Difficulty concentrating.
- Trouble sleeping.
- Feeling hungry or overweight.
- Feeling anxious, sad or depressed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Benefits of quitting smoking
According to the World Health Organization, quitting tobacco use has immediate and long-term benefits. These benefits apply to all age groups, even those already suffering from tobacco-related health problems.
Benefits include: stopping the deterioration in lung function, being able to walk is easier, lung capacity is increased, skin appearance improves, chronic cough disappears, and the risk of heart attack is reduced. In the long term, quitting smoking reduces the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke and respiratory disease.
When do smoking cessation symptoms end?
Smoking cessation symptoms usually end after 4 to 6 weeks.
Benefits of quitting smoking for men
Quitting smoking improves for a man's sexual health. According to an information card published in Al Jazeera Net Encyclopedia, smoking affects reproductive health and sexual ability, as it increases the risk of infertility and causes erectile dysfunction, due to the lack of blood supply to the penis. It is also associated with the occurrence of sperm problems. A study indicated that quitting smoking leads to improved erection.
Smoking is also a cause of impotence.
The most difficult stages of quitting smoking
The last day of the first three is believed to be the most difficult stage of quitting smoking. On this day, many people experience withdrawal symptoms, and these symptoms include irritability, anxiety, insomnia, and increased appetite.
How to deal with the third day of quitting?
- Eat 5 small meals a day to avoid confusing hunger with craving for cigarettes.
- Drink plenty of water. Limit coffee and soft drinks.
- Do a walk or a short exercise to improve your mood and get rid of some of the anxiety of nicotine withdrawal. Long walks before bed may also help ward off insomnia associated with quitting.
- Close your eyes and breathe.
- If you're feeling overwhelmed, which is common during this phase of quitting, take a quick nap during the day or go to bed a little earlier than usual.
Is nicotine considered a drug?
Nicotine is a stimulant that speeds up the messages that travel between the brain and the body. It is the main psychoactive ingredient in tobacco products, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation's Services Australia.
Nicotine damage
According to the American Heart Association, nicotine is a dangerous and addictive chemical. It can cause an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow to the heart, and narrowing of the arteries.
Nicotine may also contribute to hardening of artery walls, which in turn can lead to a heart attack.
This chemical can also stay in your body for 6-8 hours depending on how often you smoke.
As with most addictive substances, there are some side effects of withdrawal.
Some e-cigarettes and newer tobacco products provide more nicotine than traditional cigarettes.
Does nicotine cause death?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that 50 to 60 milligrams of nicotine is a lethal dose for an adult weighing about 150 pounds (68 kilograms).
Traditionally, a person who smokes absorbs about one milligram of nicotine per cigarette.
How long does it take for the body to get rid of nicotine?
There may still be a trace of nicotine in saliva and blood 3 days after stopping nicotine, according to a report in Healthline.
According to a report in Deutsche Welle, nicotine may remain for about 8 days in the blood, and a large part of it is later expelled through the urine.
The remaining amount of nicotine undergoes metabolism, producing a substance known as cotinine that can remain in the body for an entire month after the last cigarette is smoked.
In general, traces of nicotine can be found in hair follicles for up to weeks, months or even years after the latter person is exposed to nicotine.
Cleaning the body of nicotine
The best way to remove nicotine from your body is to avoid tobacco products. If you smoke, consider quitting this bad habit. In this way, your body's cells can focus on breaking down and removing nicotine.
There are several things you can do to speed up this process:
Drink water
When you drink more water, more nicotine is released from your body through urine.
Exercise
This increases the body's metabolic rate, which can lead to faster elimination of nicotine. The sweat released through exercise takes with it nicotine and its derivatives.
Eat foods rich in antioxidants
Antioxidants can help increase the body's metabolic rate. Options include oranges and carrots, which also contain compounds such as fiber.
Does walking take nicotine out of the body?
Exercise, including walking, helps speed up the body's elimination of nicotine.
Foods that cleanse the body of nicotine
These foods may help clean nicotine from the body, according to a report by Deutsche Welle:
vegetables
A study confirmed that folic acid limits the effect of nicotine on the pancreas, and that this substance reduces the harmful effect of nicotine on the body.
Spinach, broccoli, cabbage and cabbage contain a high amount of folic acid, which explains their effective role in cleansing the body of nicotine.
vitamin C
Vitamin C helps cleanse the body of nicotine, and many laboratory tests have shown the effect of this vitamin on neutralizing the toxic properties of nicotine.
When talking about vitamin C, some believe that oranges are the richest source of this vitamin, but the amount of it in particular in peppers, especially yellow, exceeds that found in oranges.
Water
Nicotine is known to dehydrate the body, making it important to drink plenty of water. Drinking water with some healthy fluids is the best way to flush out nicotine and cleanse the body. Here, health experts advise drinking a lot of green tea because it is rich in antioxidants.