Tobacco smokers borrowed the term “cold turkey” from heroin addicts to describe a method of quitting smoking without medication. Heroin addicts get “gooseflesh” or goose bumps when they withdraw from heroin without medication, and they have the appearance of a cold turkey, hence the slang term.
Goose bumps are not a common experience among smokers when they withdraw from nicotine. The term generally applies to a method of quitting any type of tobacco product in which the smoker or dipper stops using tobacco completely, without reducing, preparing or using medications to quit.
The cold turkey method can produce the most severe nicotine withdrawal symptoms, depending upon a smoker’s level of tobacco use. The physical symptoms of nicotine can include increased coughing and sputum production, fatigue, increased appetite, sweating, constipation or diarrhea, muscle aches, hypersensitivity to stimuli, headache, weight gain or sleep disturbances.
The psychological symptoms of nicotine may include decreased ability to tolerate stress, increased aggressive thoughts and behavior, irritability, anxiety, depression, restlessness, decreased sexual drive, intense tobacco cravings.
Generally, the most severe symptoms can last from a few days to three weeks after quitting, followed by a moderation of symptoms for three to six weeks, and a dramatic lessening of symptoms after three or four months.
Different levels of smoking produce different levels of nicotine addiction. Some guidelines to determine how addicted you may be to nicotine are:
You are probably not addicted to nicotine if you smoke less than 10 cigarettes per day or use less than half of a tin or package of smokeless tobacco per week.
You are probably mildly addicted to nicotine if you smoke between 10 to 15 cigarettes per day or use at least one-half to three-fourths of a tin or package of smokeless tobacco per week.
You are probably addicted to nicotine if you smoke more than 15 cigarettes per day or use one tin or package of smokeless tobacco per week.
You are probably heavily addicted to nicotine if you smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day or use more than two tins or packages per week.
If you experience four or more symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, you are probably heavily addicted. Other signs of heavy addiction to nicotine are if you have to use a tobacco product within 30 minutes after waking up, or if you continue to use even when you are sick.
I use the terms “probably” and “most likely” because each person has unique individual biochemical, psychological and sociological resilience and susceptibilities to various drugs and to drug addiction. The levels that I have cited here are meant to be guidelines. You should trust your personal experience and your intuition about how addicted you might be to nicotine and to the smoking habit.
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Tags: hypersensitivity, nicotine, tobacco smokers