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Nicotine withdrawal - Symptom

Alternative Names

Withdrawal from nicotine

Symptoms:

How severe your symptoms are depends on how long you smoked and how many cigarettes you smoked each day. Common symptoms include:

  • An intense craving for nicotine
  • Tension
  • Irritability
  • Headaches
  • Difficulty in concentrating
  • Drowsiness and trouble sleeping
  • Increased appetite and weight gain.

A milder form of nicotine withdrawal, involving some or all of these symptoms, can occur when a smoker switches from regular to low-nicotine cigarettes or significantly cuts down on the number of cigarettes smoked.

Symptoms of nicotine withdrawal can mimic, disguise, or aggravate the symptoms of other psychiatric problems, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

  • Reviewed last on: 6/19/2008
  • David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Stead LF, Perea FR. Nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 (1): CD000146.

Croghan IT, Hurt RD, et al. Randomized comparison of a nicotine inhaler and bupropion for smoking cessation and relapse prevention. Mayo Clin Proc. 2007: 82(2): 186-95.

Hughes JR, Stead LF. Antidepressants for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007: (1): CD000031.

Stead LF, Perea FR. Telephone counselling for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006: 3: CD002850.

Parkes G, Greenhalgh T. Effect on smoking quit rate of telling patients their lung age: the Step2quit randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2008: 336(7644): 598-600.

Jorenby DE, Hays JT, et al. Efficacy of varenicline, an alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, vs placebo or sustained-release bupropion for smoking cessation: a randomized controlled trial." JAMA. 2006: 296(1): 56-63.

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