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Most of the free world is aware that smoking cigarettes is harmful to your health, and most smokers have expressed an interest at one point or another in quitting. Yet, they continue to smoke. The tobacco industry continues to profit despite every indication that we are wising up as a collective society regarding the dangerous nature of smoking cigarettes. Why? Because nicotine is highly addictive and quitting smoking is really hard, that's why.

As an ex-smoker, I can say that when I started smoking I never intended to continue for as long as I did. I thought it would be something I'd do in college - admittedly, still a STUPID thing to do - and I'd quit whenever I wanted to. How hard could it really be? I was clueless. I smoked for seven years and tried to quit countless times before finally succeeding several years ago.

First, I underestimated the addictive properties of nicotine which have been compared to heroine and cocaine in terms of how physically and psychologically addictive a substance it can be. Nicotine alters the way our nerves work and changes the way our body processes chemicals like dopamine to include nicotine. When nicotine is then removed from our system, we experience withdrawal symptoms that can be extremely unpleasant. Beyond the irritability and mood swings that can result from quitting smoking, headaches, restlessness, increased appetite, and insomnia are also common withdrawal symptoms.

People do not like experiencing discomfort and will go to great lengths to avoid it. This is the trap that most smokers get caught up in. They think they can handle the discomfort and then find it's not as easy as they thought it would be and have 'just one' which turns into 'I'll try again later'.

Another reason that quitting smoking can be so difficult is that it requires people to break a habit that has formed. Habits can be incredibly powerful and new behaviors can take time to adjust to. Smokers have more success with quitting if they can replace smoking with another healthier habit - like going for a walk when the urge to smoke strikes. Cravings only last an average of 3 minutes and the endorphins released from exercise can help.

Quitting smoking can often cause slight weight gain which only adds to the difficulty of quitting. Nicotine speeds up your metabolism and when you remove the nicotine from your system it slows down temporarily. You also might find yourself eating more to calm your nerves or do something with your hands.

Learn more about this author, Sadie Anne.
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