Four Reasons Patients Fear Quitting Tobacco

• Stress: If you rely on cigarettes to loosen up during your day, you might worry about losing this release valve. It’s essential to remember that using nicotine to relax is only a temporary fix and smoking exacerbates mental health conditions over time. One study found those who smoked were up to three times more likely to have clinical depression than people who never started the habit.
• Weight gain: Gaining weight is a common symptom of nicotine withdrawal. You might find you eat more after quitting because cigarettes suppress your appetite. Others turn to food to replace their nicotine addiction. However, even if you put on a few extra pounds, quitting smoking significantly improves your health and quality of life in many other ways.
• Cravings: You might want to quit smoking but enjoy it too much, which is a common symptom of nicotine withdrawal. While cravings are typical, there are various ways to resist temptations and replace smoking with a healthier, more enjoyable activity. 
• Withdrawal symptoms: Nicotine and marijuana withdrawal commonly cause emotional and physical symptoms like anger, anxiety, irritability, headache and fatigue. You might be afraid to quit smoking due to these challenging symptoms, especially if you struggle with depression or anxiety. 
• Addiction itself: Addiction also plays a significant role in keeping people smoking. Every time you light up, nicotine increases the feel-good chemical dopamine in your brain. Once the chemicals wear off, you’ll start craving more. Over time, your body will adapt to the nicotine and you’ll need to smoke more to achieve the same desirable effects. Eventually, this perpetuates a cycle that can feel challenging to escape. 

Aside from these worries, even the fear of the unknown might affect the decision to make a change. Fortunately, there are several ways that can replace these worries with optimism to change. 

How to Overcome the Fear of Quitting Smoking

While the above anxieties may initially deter you, you can combat them by learning how to lead a healthy, cigarette-free lifestyle. While it may take a few tries, look at every small victory as a success. Here are some tips to help combat your fear of quitting smoking.

Stress 

While you may feel calmer after the first drag on a cigarette, the habit only harms your mental health over time. According to one study, most participants reported less stress after quitting. Try these stress-management techniques to replace your smoking habit.

• Exercise: Moving your body through exercise is an excellent way to relieve stress. Virtually any form of exercise can help you feel calmer, from weightlifting to cycling, swimming and even gardening.
• Mindfulness: Deep breathing exercises and meditation are beneficial mindfulness routines to increase self-awareness and combat the triggers that might contribute to your nicotine addiction. 
• Take a nature walk: Studies show being in nature can ease your mind and lift your mood, becoming an effective way to curb stress and negative feelings. 
• Get good-quality sleep each night: Getting enough sleep can help you stay on an even keel throughout your day, allowing you to kick your smoking habit. Experts advise healthy adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep every night.

Weight Gain

Weight gain is another reason you might be afraid to quit smoking, but it shouldn’t deter you. Adding a couple of pounds is a fair trade for the health benefits of smoking cessation. You can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and many types of cancer.

• By preparing yourself for weight gain, there are ways to prevent it when you quit smoking. You might be more inclined to reach for food without constant smoking breaks, so keeping an array of healthy snacks on hand is essential. 
• Another simple way to combat weight gain is by getting outside and taking a 30-minute walk each day. Even walking up and down your stairs a few times in a row can help. Additional activity will benefit your physical and mental health and help you manage your weight after you quit smoking. 

Addiction Cravings

Try a few tips to manage nicotine cravings and help you curb that fear: 

• Avoid situations or people that remind you of smoking.
• Keep a healthy snack on hand. 
• Reach out to a mental health helpline, support group or other addiction resources to help you quit smoking.
• Reduce substances like alcohol or caffeine, which can trigger nicotine cravings. 
• Try nicotine replacement therapy, using a skin patch, lozenge, or gum to help curb cravings and wean off nicotine with milder withdrawal symptoms than stopping abruptly.

Withdrawal

While nicotine withdrawal can be unpleasant, it is temporary. Most people only experience withdrawal symptoms for three to four weeks after quitting. The challenging emotions will likely intensify for the first week and then gradually subside.

• Speaking with a mental health professional is a productive way to manage these feelings. Through cognitive behavioral therapy, a counselor can help you identify the reasons you want to smoke and why stopping seems intimidating. By gaining more self-awareness, you can keep on track with quitting substances and learning healthy coping mechanisms to replace the habit. 
• You might also journal, exercise or meditate to help you through your feelings or turn to friends and family at this time. Reward yourself when you quit. Remember that every step in the right direction counts as a win and you can use positive reinforcement to help you through the process.

For additional information and resources, please visit Tobacco Cessation - NGSMEDICARE

National Government Services (NGS) offers educational webinars twice per month to raise awareness and increase utilization of tobacco use counseling. We focus on the effects of nicotine dependence including affected health consequences and review Medicare coverage, coding, billing and documentation guidelines for tobacco use counseling for outpatient and hospitalized beneficiaries. NGS and the CMS resources are provided with a brief question and answer period at the end of the session. You can register below or on our Events page.

Posted 4/22/2025