Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms: Timeline and How to Cope
What happens in the hours, days and weeks after your last cigarette, and the treatments that make withdrawal easier.
Part of the Access Doctor Stop Smoking Guide.
Key fact: Nicotine withdrawal is usually worst in the first week and eases over 2 to 4 weeks. Stop smoking medicines work mainly by reducing these symptoms.
When you stop smoking, your brain has to adjust to working without nicotine, and that adjustment causes withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine withdrawal is usually temporary and can be uncomfortable. Most symptoms improve over the first few weeks, although mood changes can sometimes need extra support.
Ease Withdrawal with Stop Smoking Tablets
Varenicline, Champix and cytisinicline reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Get them after a short online consultation.
Start Stop Smoking Consultation →Common Withdrawal Symptoms
- Strong cravings for a cigarette
- Irritability, frustration or anger
- Anxiety and restlessness
- Brain fog and difficulty concentrating
- Low mood
- Trouble sleeping
- Increased appetite and weight gain
- Headaches and tiredness
- Constipation, and a cough or mouth ulcers for a few weeks
Nicotine Withdrawal Timeline: Day by Day
Everyone is different, and heavier smokers often have stronger symptoms. This is the usual pattern:
1
First few hours
Cravings and restlessness start as nicotine levels in your blood fall.
2
24 hours
Cravings are frequent, and irritability and anxiety start to build. You may find it hard to concentrate.
3
48 hours
Most of the nicotine has left your body. Headaches, hunger and poor sleep are common, and your sense of taste and smell starts to improve.
4
72 hours
Breathing often feels easier, but for many people cravings and irritability are at or near their strongest around now.
5
Days 5 to 7
The end of the first week is the hardest stretch for most people and when going back to smoking is most likely. Have your coping plan ready.
6
Weeks 2 to 4
Most symptoms ease steadily. Brain fog lifts, mood and sleep improve, and cravings become less frequent. A cough may continue as your lungs clear.
7
After 1 month
Withdrawal is mostly over. Increased appetite can last for several weeks more.
8
Months later
Occasional cravings can still be triggered by alcohol, stress or places where you used to smoke, but they're weaker and pass quickly.
For how your body recovers over the longer term, from your heart rate to your lung cancer risk, see our stop smoking guide.
Withdrawal vs Cravings: What's the Difference?
Withdrawal is your body and brain readjusting to life without nicotine. It causes the physical and mood symptoms above, and it follows a timeline: it peaks in the first week and is mostly over within a month.
Cravings are the urge to smoke. Some come from withdrawal, but many are triggered by habits and situations: a coffee, a drink, the end of a meal, stress. These cue-triggered cravings can still pop up months after withdrawal has ended. Each one usually passes within about 5 minutes, and they get weaker every time you don't give in.
That's why the best quit plans combine a medicine (to reduce withdrawal) with a plan for your triggers (to handle cravings).
Why You Should Cut Your Caffeine
Chemicals in tobacco smoke speed up the liver enzyme that breaks down caffeine. Smokers clear caffeine much faster than non-smokers, so many drink more coffee to get the same effect. When you stop smoking, that enzyme slows down within days, but your coffee habit doesn't. The same number of cups can leave much more caffeine in your blood.
Too much caffeine causes jitteriness, a racing heart, anxiety and poor sleep, which are easy to mistake for withdrawal and can make it feel worse.
Try halving your caffeine from your quit day: coffee, tea, cola and energy drinks. Swap some cups for decaf, and avoid caffeine after midday.
The same enzyme change affects some medicines, such as clozapine, olanzapine and theophylline, so tell your doctor you've stopped smoking if you take them.
How to Cope with Withdrawal
Cravings
Wait it out: most pass within 5 minutes. Distract yourself, drink water or go for a walk.
Poor sleep
Cut caffeine after midday, keep a regular bedtime and avoid screens before bed.
Hunger
Keep healthy snacks to hand, eat regular meals and stay active.
Brain fog
Break tasks into smaller chunks, take short breaks, and get outside for fresh air.
Our step-by-step guide on how to stop smoking has more on handling triggers.
Treatments That Reduce Withdrawal
Stop smoking medicines make withdrawal much easier, which is one of the main reasons they improve your chances of success:
- Varenicline and Champix ease cravings and withdrawal and make cigarettes less satisfying.
- Cytisinicline works in the same way over a 25-day course.
- Nicotine replacement provides nicotine without the smoke, then reduces it gradually.
See our prescription treatments for nicotine cravings, or, if you're not sure which tablet to choose, our guide to varenicline vs cytisinicline compares them side by side.
When to Get Help
See your GP if low mood or anxiety lasts more than a couple of weeks, gets worse, or affects daily life, or if a mental health condition seems worse since stopping. Also tell your GP if you take clozapine, olanzapine, theophylline or warfarin, as your dose may need checking.
Get help straight away if you have thoughts of harming yourself: call 999, go to A&E or contact NHS 111.
Make Withdrawal Easier
Answer a few health questions and a UK pharmacist prescriber will recommend the stop smoking tablet that suits you.
Start Stop Smoking Consultation →Frequently Asked Questions
How long does nicotine withdrawal last?
Symptoms usually peak in the first week and ease over 2 to 4 weeks. Increased appetite can last a little longer, and occasional cravings can come back for months, though they get weaker over time.
What happens 24 hours after quitting smoking?
Cravings are frequent, and you may feel irritable, anxious and unable to concentrate. Your body is already recovering: your heart rate has settled and carbon monoxide levels are falling.
What happens 72 hours after quitting smoking?
Breathing often starts to feel easier, but for many people cravings and irritability are at or near their peak. Keep going: from here, symptoms usually start to ease.
What day is the worst for nicotine withdrawal?
For most people, days 3 to 7 are the hardest. This is when a coping plan and a stop smoking medicine help most.
When do nicotine cravings start to get easier?
Most people notice cravings becoming less frequent and less intense after 2 to 4 weeks. Cravings triggered by habits, such as having a drink, can last longer but pass more quickly each time you resist.
Can nicotine withdrawal cause brain fog?
Yes. Difficulty concentrating and feeling foggy are common in the first 1 to 2 weeks and usually lift within a month. Cutting down on caffeine and getting enough sleep can help.
Can nicotine withdrawal cause depression?
Low mood is common in the first few weeks, and stopping smoking can make existing depression worse for a while. Over the longer term, people who stop have better mood than those who carry on. See your GP if low mood lasts or gets worse.
Why am I coughing more since I stopped smoking?
Your lungs start clearing mucus within a couple of days of stopping, which can make you cough more for a few weeks. See your GP if a cough lasts more than 3 weeks or you cough up blood.
Do stop smoking tablets stop withdrawal symptoms?
They reduce them a lot rather than stopping them completely. Varenicline and cytisinicline ease cravings and withdrawal and make cigarettes less satisfying if you do smoke.
References
- NHS Better Health. Quit smoking. nhs.uk
- NICE CKS. Smoking cessation. cks.nice.org.uk
- NICE. Tobacco: preventing uptake, promoting quitting and treating dependence (NG209). nice.org.uk
- Livingstone-Banks J, et al. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Nicotine receptor partial agonists for smoking cessation. 2023. cochranelibrary.com
Medical disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Prescription medicines require a consultation before they can be dispensed. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for diagnosis and treatment. In a medical emergency, call 999.