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Learn · Cravings

Why cravings feel so strong

It’s your brain’s wiring, not weak willpower.

3 minute read · Sources: NHS, NIDA, BMJ Open

It starts in about 10 seconds

A cigarette is a very fast way to get nicotine to the brain.

After a puff of smoke, nicotine levels in the brain peak within about 10 seconds, according to the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).1 There, nicotine raises dopamine in the brain’s reward circuits. That quick lift is what the brain learns to want again.

The loop

A craving rarely comes from nowhere. The NHS says cravings can be triggered by stress, certain situations and daily routines:2 the morning coffee, a tense phone call, a friend lighting up.

  1. Cue
  2. Craving
  3. Nicotine
  4. Dopamine lift
  5. Relief

And round again. Each time, the cue gets a little stronger.

NIDA describes how the brain learns to link these cues with the dopamine surge that nicotine brings.1 So the cue alone can set off the wanting. That is learning, the same kind the brain does all day. It is not a flaw in your character.

A craving passes

This is the most useful fact on the page.

Cravings usually only last a few minutesNHS Better Health2

You don’t have to hold out for the rest of the day. You need something to do for the next few minutes. The NHS advice is to have a distraction ready before the craving arrives.

The first days and weeks

Withdrawal is usually strongest in the first week, and especially in the first 3 days, says the NHS. On average the symptoms last 3 to 4 weeks, though some people feel them for longer.3

Cravings follow a similar path. The NHS says they are hardest in the first 28 days, while the body adjusts to having no nicotine, and that after that they often start to get easier.2

If it takes more than one try

Many people need more than one attempt. A 2016 study in BMJ Open tried to count how many, and the answer depended on how you count: its estimates started at about 6 attempts and went past 30. The authors’ own conclusion was that for many smokers it may take 30 or more.4

So a slip is common. It says very little about the next try.

What to do with those few minutes

Pick your distraction now, while you feel fine. A short walk, a glass of water, a few slow breaths, a message to a friend: anything you can start in seconds.

Deep Breez keeps one ready.One tap starts a short workout, a breathing exercise or a walk. Those three are free.

A craving is a wave. It rises, peaks and passes.

The one line to remember.

Sources

  1. NIDA (US National Institute on Drug Abuse), 2020. Is nicotine addictive?
  2. NHS Better Health. Understand your smoking triggers and cravings
  3. NHS Better Health. Managing nicotine withdrawal symptoms
  4. Chaiton and colleagues, BMJ Open, 2016. Estimating the number of quit attempts it takes to quit smoking successfully

The numbers here come from guidance and research about cigarettes. If you vape, treat the timings as a guide. This page is general information, not medical advice. For medicines or a quit service, talk to a doctor, a pharmacist or your local quitline. Deep Breez is support, not medical treatment, and makes no promise about quitting.