Nicotine Withdrawal: What It Is and How to Get Through It
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Nicotine Withdrawal: Symptoms, Duration, Treatment, and More

Nicotine Withdrawal: Symptoms, Duration, Treatment, and More
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Updated on October 31, 2024
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Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical compound found in cigarettes, other tobacco products, and vapes. Because most smokers inhale nicotine on multiple occasions over the span of a day, the body and brain become accustomed to it. So when people try to stop smoking or vaping, the lack of nicotine almost always causes withdrawal symptoms like irritability, trouble concentrating, and a strong craving for more nicotine.

For many people, nicotine withdrawal symptoms are strongest for the first days after quitting tobacco. As time passes, cravings and other symptoms begin to subside, and it gets easier to live without it. With some preparation and strategy, nicotine withdrawal symptoms shouldn’t stand in the way of living a tobacco-free life.

What Is Nicotine Withdrawal?

Every time you inhale cigarette smoke or vapor, nicotine travels from your lungs to your heart, blood vessels, brain, and every other part of your body. Because nicotine is so addictive, with regular use your body gets used to having it in your system.

When nicotine isn’t available, the brain has to adjust to its absence. Many smokers experience some level of withdrawal symptoms after going just several hours without having a puff.

Nicotine withdrawal is a collection of distracting and unpleasant symptoms that happen when you stop using nicotine. Nicotine withdrawal is different for everyone, but the worst of it usually only lasts for a few weeks.

Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms

When you stop using tobacco, you’ll likely experience the effects of nicotine withdrawal within 24 hours. Some of the symptoms are physical, while others are mental or emotional.

How often you smoke and how many years you’ve been using nicotine usually dictate how intense your withdrawal symptoms will be. The most common symptoms are:

  • An intense craving for nicotine
  • Irritation or crankiness
  • Restlessness or jumpiness
  • Problems concentrating
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Increased appetite
  • Anxiety, sadness, or depression

Physical Symptoms of Nicotine Withdrawal

The lack of nicotine in your body can cause the same kinds of symptoms as some medical conditions. These physical side effects include:

Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Symptoms of Nicotine Withdrawal

Other withdrawal symptoms stem from nicotine’s effects on the brain. The mental, emotional, and behavioral symptoms include:

  • Nicotine cravings
  • Irritability or anger
  • Restlessness or jitteriness
  • Sadness or depression
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Increased hunger

Causes of Nicotine Withdrawal

Nicotine attaches to receptors in your brain. When those are activated, they trigger your brain to release dopamine — a neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) that makes you feel pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation. When you stop using products that contain nicotine, the dopamine levels in your brain drop. The lack of this feel-good chemical is what causes withdrawal symptoms. Cravings are your brain and body’s way of telling you that they want more dopamine.

Nicotine Withdrawal Duration

If you’re a regular tobacco user, withdrawal symptoms typically start within 4 to 24 hours after your last dose. Symptoms may peak around the third day, but the nicotine withdrawal timeline is different for each person who quits. Some people stop feeling the effects of withdrawal within a few days or weeks.

Treatment and Management of Nicotine Withdrawal

The first few days after you quit nicotine can be challenging, but withdrawal symptoms will ease in time. In the meantime, there are many products and techniques you can try to reduce cravings and other uncomfortable symptoms.

Treatment

Treatment options for managing nicotine withdrawal include:

  • Over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapies, such as the patch, gum, and lozenges, and nicotine replacement nasal sprays (available with a prescription)
  • Prescription medicines like varenicline (Chantix) or bupropion (Wellbutrin XL)
  • Online or in-person tobacco cessation programs
  • Therapy and support groups

Management Tips

Distraction techniques can help take the edge off of unpleasant symptoms while waiting for cravings to pass.

How to manage physical symptoms of nicotine withdrawal:

  • Suck on a lozenge or hard candy to relieve a sore throat and dry mouth.
  • Go for a walk or eat healthy snacks like carrot sticks or sliced apples when you get hungry.
  • Drink extra water and add more fiber to your diet to prevent constipation.

How to manage mental, emotional, and behavioral symptoms of nicotine withdrawal:

  • Practice deep breathing or meditation to relax.
  • Call 800-QUIT-NOW to talk to a free quit-smoking coach.
  • Add more physical activity to your day. Go for a walk, take an aerobics class, or go on a bike ride.
  • Schedule activities throughout the day to keep your mind off smoking or vaping.
  • Spend time with a friend, particularly if they have successfully quit smoking.
  • Avoid situations where you used to smoke, such as going to bars or while drinking coffee.
  • Cut back on caffeine, which can make you more jittery.
  • Talk to a doctor or therapist.

Nicotine Withdrawal Prevention

You can’t entirely prevent nicotine withdrawal. But for some, tapering off nicotine slowly may lessen withdrawal symptoms and make them more bearable. Others find that stopping smoking entirely is a more effective quitting strategy for them.

If quitting tobacco cold turkey proves too difficult, consider gradually reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke in a day. And while you’re reducing your tobacco use, try nicotine replacement therapy to lessen the withdrawal symptoms and smooth the transition off nicotine.


    The Takeaway

    • Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical found in tobacco products. Quitting it can lead to withdrawal symptoms like cravings, irritability, and increased appetite.
    • Medications, nicotine replacement therapy, and smoking cessation programs can lessen some of these unpleasant symptoms. But nicotine withdrawal can’t be entirely prevented, and the quitting timeline is different for every smoker.
    • Managing your feelings with meditation, exercise, or speaking to a therapist or smoking cessation coach can help you cope with the changes in your daily routine.
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    Heidi Green, MD

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    Castle Connolly Top Doctor, Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine
    Heidi Green, MD, is board certified in psychiatry, addiction medicine, and lifestyle medicine. She currently divides her time between maintaining a small private practice and working at specialized opioid treatment programs in North Carolina.

    In her private practice, Dr. Green provides psychiatric consultative services and offers an office-based buprenorphine maintenance program to support recovery from opioid addictions. She enjoys offering lifestyle medicine consultation to those interested in maximizing their emotional and physical health by replacing unhealthy behaviors with positive ones, such as eating healthfully, being physically active, managing stress, avoiding risky substance use, improving sleep, and improving the quality of their relationships.

    At the opioid treatment programs, Green serves as medical director, working with a team of counselors, nurses, and other medical providers. The programs provide evidence-based treatment (including buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone) for persons suffering from opioid use disorders (such as addictions to heroin, fentanyl, or prescription pain medications).

    Previously, Green has worked in community health and mental health settings where she provided consultation to behavioral health teams, integrated care teams, substance abuse intensive outpatient programs, and a women’s perinatal residential program. She also enjoyed supervising residents in her prior role as assistant consulting professor to the department of psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine. During her training at the UNC department of psychiatry, she was honored to serve as chief resident, clinical instructor of psychiatry, and psychotherapy supervisor.

    Green is passionate about the years we can add to our life and the life we can add to our years through lifestyle medicine! She focuses on maintaining her own healthy lifestyle through work-life balance, contemplative practices, and eating a plant-based diet. She finds joy through a continual growth mindset, shared quality time with her partner, and time spent outdoors backpacking and mountain biking.
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    Stephanie Watson

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    Stephanie Watson is a freelance health writer who has contributed to WebMD, AARP.org, BabyCenter, Forbes Health, Fortune Well, Time, Self, Arthritis Today, Greatist, Healthgrades, and HealthCentral. Previously, she was the executive editor of Harvard Women’s Health Watch and Mount Sinai’s Focus on Healthy Aging. She has also written more than 30 young adult books on subjects ranging from celebrity biographies to brain injuries in football.
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    Resources
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    4. 7 Common Withdrawal Symptoms. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. September 12, 2023.
    5. What to Expect When You Quit Smoking. Victoria State Government Department of Health. March 31, 2022.
    6. Ashok AH et al. Tobacco Smoking and Dopaminergic Function in Humans: A Meta-Analysis of Molecular Imaging Studies. Psychopharmacology. April 1, 2019.
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