Nicotine Withdrawal

The hard part for some people when quitting smoking is going through nicotine withdrawal. The nicotine replacement companies go to great lengths to convince you that it's so hard and that by using their nicotine, they can make quitting smoking easier. I guess it depends on your reasons for quitting. If you're quitting for social reasons, you just want to lose the cigarette and not the nicotine addiction, then I can see using nicotine replacement therapy, because that's all it is; you're replacing one form of nicotine for another. You could argue that it helps people quit smoking by making it easier to deal with the psychological reasons for smoking before having to go through withdrawal. I won't argue with that. If you are new to quitting, this can be very helpful. I used nicotine replacement therapy in some of my early quit attempts, it never worked(just made me want to smoke more), but I was able to work on psychological issues somewhat. The psychological issues for smoking I'll address in another post. Back to nicotine withdrawal. For me the withdrawal itself is the easy part, it only takes a few days. I feel light headed, maybe have a headache, I get very irritable, and tired. Some people get very sick. I have found withdrawal to be easy to manage through drinking lots of fluids (lots and lots), and keeping on the move, also keeping a positive attitude helps (even when it's hard). You should be drinking water; fruit juices, like cranberry juice, can help as well. Stay away from sodas. Get up and move. Smoking is a very lazy activity, we like to sit and smoke, or smoke to relax; when going through withdrawals we should be moving around. You can go for a walk, clean your house, do some aerobics, whatever, just move. In 4 days to a week the nicotine will be out of your system, physical withdrawal will be over. Even if you use nicotine replacement therapy, you will still have to go through this.
Nicotine withdrawal is something smokers go through everyday, all day long. When you put out your cigarette you go right into withdrawal. When you light up your next cigarette all you are doing is relieving the symptoms of withdrawal. Why continue to put yourself through that?
Here are some links where you can read more on withdrawal:

A Brief Stroll Helps Smokers Walk Away from Cigarettes

Nicotine Withdrawal and Recovery Symptoms

Researchers Find Nicotine Withdrawal Begins Quickly


Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. If you are having a medical issue, you should consult your physician.