MONDAY, Feb. 24, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- For up to two weeks after quitting, former smokers are likely to develop cold symptoms and mouth ulcers.
British researchers, whose study appears in the current issue of Tobacco Control, write that this backlash from the body may discourage many ex-smokers from sticking with their desire to quit, unless they know what to expect.
The study included 174 smokers with an average age of 43. Two-thirds of the study participants were women. All the people in the study had smoked for at least three years and smoked an average of a pack of cigarettes a day.
The study participants were assessed a week before they quit smoking and then again at one week, two weeks and six weeks after they kicked the habit.
After one week, almost 75 percent of the people were smoke-free. By six weeks, about 45 percent of them were still resisting the temptation to smoke.
For one to two weeks after quitting, former smokers were much more likely to report cold symptoms such as sore throat, coughing and sneezing. In the first week after quitting, about a third of the former smokers developed at least three cold symptoms.
To add insult to injury, for up to two weeks after breaking the habit, the former smokers were more likely to develop mouth ulcers than normal. All symptoms subsided after six weeks.
The increase in mouth ulcers may be related to the loss of the antibacterial effect of smoking, the study authors write. The cold symptoms may be caused by transient depression in immune function after the people quit smoking, they add.
While they didn't fully investigate the impact of these symptoms on the former smokers' relapse rates, the authors write these symptoms might convince people to start smoking again, especially if they're not prepared for them.
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