Symptoms
When smokers stop, they begin to experience withdrawal. Some of the more common symptoms include:
- Mood changes, such as irritability, anger, anxiety or feeling down
- Difficulty concentrating
- Fatigue, insomnia
- Nausea, constipation, diarrhea
- Headaches
- Increased hunger
- Tobacco cravings
- Sleep disturbance
Most of these symptoms subside in three or four weeks.
If smokers don't stop, they also experience symptoms. These include:
- Frequent colds and respiratory infections
- Chronic cough/wheezing from obstructive lung disease (emphysema)
- Increased blood pressure
- Impotence
- Cancers of the mouth, throat, lung or bladder
- Decreased oxygen to tissue, which can cause heart disease or stroke
- Miscarriage or stillbirth
- Limited joint mobility
- Wrinkling of skin
- In those with diabetes - foot ulcers, nerve damage, kidney disease
More on Smoking
The Facts About Women and Smoking
The Dangers of Secondhand Smoking
Teenage Smoking Causes Permanent Lung Damage
In the Encyclopedia:
Lung diseases due to gas or chemical exposure
Buerger's disease
Smoking
Superior vena cava syndrome
|
