Cold Turkey
“Cold turkey” is one of the methods available to smokers who want to quit. Cold turkey means a smoker abruptly stops smoking instead of reducing his nicotine intake until he quits completely. Because going cold turkey doesn’t involve the use of any nicotine cessation products or support services, it’s a popular method despite not having a high success rate.
The documented success rate for smokers who quit cold turkey is around 10 percent; approximately 10 people out of 100 who quit smoking using this method will remain ex-smokers a year later, while the rest pick up the habit again.
About Cold Turkey
Cold turkey plans for smokers vary. Some advocates of the cold turkey method suggest smokers should throw all cigarettes away at one time. A smoker may pick a specific date when quitting using the cold turkey method or just let himself run out of cigarettes. Planned methods, such as picking a specific date, tend to work better than a spur of the moment cold turkey attempt. All cold turkey methods rely on the smoker’s willpower.
Some smokers go cold turkey because of the amount of willpower necessary for success; if they are able to conquer the urge on their own, they believe they won’t ever smoke again. A smoker trying cold turkey may feel like he’s more in control of the situation if he’s quitting without any help. However, for other smokers, the various side effects from quitting cold turkey are unbearable and too disruptive to everyday life. Common suggestions to avoid side effects from quitting without any nicotine aids include keeping the mouth busy–such as eating hard candy or gum–and drinking water to avoid overeating, but these suggestions are not guaranteed to work for everyone.
Pros Of Cold Turkey
- The obvious advantage to quitting smoking cold turkey is the fact that it’s free. A person quitting cold turkey doesn’t have to buy nicotine cessation products, such as patches or gum, or take any medications.
- A smoker who is quitting partly because he can’t afford cigarettes might go cold turkey because of the cost of the smoking cessation products and stop smoking aids.
- Another advantage of cold turkey is the minimal time investment. A smoker is sometimes hesitate to try counseling or medications to quit smoking because of the office and store visits involved with those methods; cold turkey doesn’t require any special office visits or trips to the store.
Cons Of Cold Turkey
- Quitting smoking without any support or aids has side effects. Smokers are usually both physically and mentally addicted to cigarettes.Once a smoker quits, the side effects from both nicotine withdrawal and the mental addiction begin.
- Common side effects from quitting cold turkey include irritability, the inability to sleep and bouts of depression; side effects are usually the strongest within the first three weeks but may continue for months.
- A smoker using the cold turkey method may find himself snapping at family, friends and coworkers and experiencing weight gain. Although weight gain is normal when a person stops smoking, a person who quits without an aid may have more trouble with weight gain than a person who quit using another method.
- Nicotine disrupts the metabolism, and eliminating the drug entirely makes a person’s metabolism sluggish in the beginning.
Conclusion
Whether cold turkey is right for a smoker depends on his motivation and willpower. Even the most dedicated person may experience difficulty using this method to quit smoking because of the immediate intensity of the side effects from nicotine withdrawal. Although there is no harm in trying cold turkey and it is free, if the smoker fails to quit, he should move on to other quitting methods instead of giving up on quitting smoking altogether.
