Going Cold Turkey - Why You Shouldn’t Do It
18th Oct 2019
Thinking about quitting cigarettes? Have you thought about going ‘cold turkey’? Let’s take a look at why suddenly depriving your body of the nicotine it has become addicted to is a bad idea, as well as looking at an easier way to quit tobacco successfully without any unwanted obstacles.
Smokers Going ‘Cold Turkey’
What does stop ‘cold turkey’ mean anyway? Rather than a post-Christmas dinner snack that you might be might found tucking into, going ‘cold turkey' is an expression used for when someone decides to instantly quit a particular vice or bad habit that affects their health. Why do we say cold turkey? While the origin of the phrase is hard to pinpoint, the theory is that the pale, clammy sight of an addict going through withdrawal, complete with goosebumps, is not dissimilar to the sight of a cold turkey.
According to research published by Public Health England, 58% of smokers try to quit smoking by choosing the cold turkey route. Why? The same reports suggest that four in 10 smokers believe that nicotine found in cigarettes is the principal cause of smoking-related cancers. While nicotine is addictive, it is, in fact, the process of burning a cigarette and inhaling the smoke that is responsible for 16% of all adult fatalities in the UK through smoking-related illnesses. Every time a cigarette is lit, tens of thousands of lethal carcinogens, sticky tar and carbon monoxide enter the bloodstream, which causes innumerable diseases and cancers. The misunderstanding over the danger nicotine poses to our health means that thousands of smokers are being subjected to the unpleasant consequences of withdrawal by going cold turkey.
The Effects of Nicotine Withdrawal
Is it bad to go ‘cold turkey’? Unless you have a penchant for pain, anguish and anxiety, going cold turkey to quit smoking is a route to be avoided.
What happens when you go ‘cold turkey’? Rather than giving your body the time it needs to relinquish the need for nicotine and remove it from your bloodstream, going ‘cold turkey’ can put your body under undue stress can make you feel anxious and irritable. In addition to the foul mood you may find yourself in, experiencing headaches and what might seem like irresistible urges to smoke will only add to your frustrations. While these symptoms will reduce over the coming weeks, the immediate aftermath of going cold turkey can be a disruptive force in one's life and one that most of us could probably live without.
Did you Know Vaping Can Help You Quit Smoking?
The good news for smokers is that going cold turkey and avoiding any sinister withdrawal symptoms can be easily bypassed by using e cigs and nicotine-based e liquid. Independent research published by Public Health England in 2015 showed that e cigarettes are a staggering 95% less harmful than smoking cigarettes and that vaping has the potential to help smokers become smoke-free. Increasingly used by smokers to help them make the transition to a healthy lifestyle, the theory that e cigs can help smokers quit is backed up by more recent research from Queen Mary University London that found e cigs to be almost twice as effective as traditional products such as nicotine patches and gums.