Have you ever found yourself asking the question “ why do I continue to smoke even if I don’t really enjoy it anymore?”

For many, even if you want to quit smoking, nicotine somehow pushes you to lighting one more smoke. The truth is that nicotine has manipulated your body into thinking that it needs more even if you know you’ve already had too much.

Nicotine is the main reason why quitting smoking is such a challenge. This substance gets you hooked so badly that breaking away from it can seem impossible. The physical cravings will begin shortly after quitting and will rapidly increase in intensity until they peak somewhere between 48 and 120 hours. They will then begin to gradually weaken.

I’ve found the best way to deal with these cravings is to “delay and distract.”  In other words, put off smoking that cigarette and do something else to distract you.

When trying to quit, each person has different cravings from the addiction that can be pacified by any one of the quit smoking aids. For instance, if one craves for the puffing habit, then he or she might try one of the electronic cigarette products on the market. If one craves for the nicotine, then patches could be more effective for him or her. In the end, what matters is that the individual finds the best and most effective quit smoking product for the success of their quitting endeavor. The benefit in having a extensive selection of quit smoking products is the smoker is able to choose which is most effective for him or her.

The addictive factor is only one side of the story that makes quitting difficult, the other side is the quit smoking side effects that you go through while trying to quit.

If you think that having the strength to quit such an addiction is all it takes, think again, you will also be needing endurance for the number of side effects you’ll experience. Nicotine withdrawal is the main reason one experiences these quit smoking side effects. Depriving your body of something that it is accustomed to will definitely cause a few changes.

The customary quit smoking side effects are:

• Headaches
• Shaking or chills
• Coughing
• Runny nose
• Shortness of breath
• Insomnia
• Stomach pains
• Tiredness

Anxiety, mood swings, boredom and loneliness, mild depression or sadness and a short temper are some of the possible psychological effects one experiences when attempting to quit.

Although not all people experience these symptoms, some might experience just a few, some can go through each one and there are some fortunate ones that don’t experience any side effects at all. One good thing about these side effects are they are short lived, they can last from 2 to 6 weeks depending on the individual.

Bottom line… you can stop smoking if you’re willing to put up with some nuisances in your life.

It may sound discouraging but if you look at it from a clinical point of view, they’re just side effects, something one may experience when under any medication treatment. Taking a step back and looking at the consequences makes you realize that these are simple side effects, you’ve probably gone through worse if you have tried taking strong medication. The side effects shouldn’t be your concern, it’s your health that you should be worried about.