There's a story people tell themselves about nicotine: that it takes the edge off, that it steadies them, that giving it up means giving up the thing that keeps them calm. It's a convincing story, partly because in the short term it's true — a hit does settle the rising discomfort. What it's settling is mostly the withdrawal from the last one.
The longer-term picture is one of the better-evidenced findings in the whole quitting literature, and it points the other way.
First, the bad fortnight is real
Nothing below is an argument that quitting feels good at the start. Irritability, anxiety and low mood are on the recognised list of nicotine withdrawal symptoms, and a systematic review in Nicotine & Tobacco Research — which screened over 3,500 papers to separate the genuine symptoms from the folklore — confirmed anger, anxiety and depression as valid withdrawal symptoms that peak within the first week and last two to four weeks.
Australia's public health services say the same thing, more kindly. The Victorian Department of Health's Better Health Channel lists "irritability, anger, anxiety, depressed mood" and adds the important part:
"This is all normal: don't panic."
— Better Health Channel
Quit, run by Cancer Council Victoria, describes it as "being easily upset, feeling irritable, frustrated, angry" and notes symptoms are usually strongest in the first week. So: a genuinely rough patch, with a known shape and a known end date.
Then the evidence turns
In 2014 a team led by Gemma Taylor published a systematic review and meta-analysis in The BMJ, pooling 26 studies that followed people before and after they stopped smoking. Every mental health measure moved in the same direction — anxiety, depression, stress, positive affect and psychological quality of life all improved relative to people who kept smoking. Their conclusion included a line that surprised a lot of people:
"Effect sizes equal or larger than antidepressant treatment for mood and anxiety disorders."
— Taylor et al., The BMJ
The same finding held for people with existing psychiatric conditions, which matters, because "I smoke because of my anxiety" is one of the most common reasons people give for not trying.
A later Cochrane review by largely the same team pulled together 102 studies covering more than 169,000 people and reached a consistent conclusion: people who stopped smoking for at least six weeks "experienced less depression, anxiety, and stress than people who continued to smoke."
Two honest caveats, because this is exactly the kind of finding that gets overstated. These are reviews of observational studies — they establish association, not proof of cause, and the authors' own wording is "is associated with", not "will make you". And Cochrane rated the certainty of the evidence as ranging from very low to moderate. What you can fairly take from it is this: the widespread belief that quitting will make your mental health worse is not supported by the evidence, and the evidence leans fairly firmly the other way.
Why the rough fortnight is worth taking seriously anyway
Because mood is one of the things that decides whether the quit survives it. The largest study on this followed 1,246 treatment-seeking smokers for 52 weeks and untangled the direction of cause and effect. Higher negative affect, craving and overall withdrawal symptoms increased the likelihood of relapse afterwards — and relapse then drove those same symptoms back up. A loop, in other words, and one that runs in the direction you'd least want.
It isn't the whole story. A smaller Australian-relevant counterpoint worth knowing: an ecological momentary assessment study of 49 self-quitters found negative affect and craving were less consistent predictors of lapsing in the first week than low self-efficacy and simply being around other smokers. Social context matters at least as much as chemistry. Anyone who tells you relapse is purely a mood problem is oversimplifying.
Cancer Council WA's own review of relapse triggers puts stress and anxiety among the most commonly reported reasons people go back.
What this means in practice
Three things. Expect the first two to four weeks to be emotionally worse than baseline, and don't read that as proof the decision was wrong — it's the withdrawal, and it has an end date. Don't quit in the same week you move house or start a new job, if you have any choice about the timing. And take the social side as seriously as the chemical one.
The hard fortnight is the part CURBi is formulated for — supporting mood, focus and calm, without nicotine. It contains no nicotine, so there's nothing in it to stay dependent on, and it can be used on its own or alongside nicotine replacement therapy.
If you want to talk it through with someone, Quitline is 13 7848 and it's free from anywhere in Australia.
CURBi is an Australian listed medicine, included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. It is not a nicotine replacement therapy and does not contain nicotine, and it is not a substitute for advice from your doctor or pharmacist. Always read the label and follow the directions for use. If symptoms persist, talk to your health professional. Mixed Berry AUST L 527257 · Watermelon AUST L 527256 · Mango Passionfruit AUST L 527251.
Sources
- Taylor G, McNeill A, Girling A, Farley A, Lindson-Hawley N, Aveyard P. Change in mental health after smoking cessation: systematic review and meta-analysis. The BMJ, 2014;348:g1151.
- Taylor GMJ, Lindson N, Farley A, et al. Smoking cessation for improving mental health. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2021, Issue 3, CD013522.
- Hughes JR. Effects of abstinence from tobacco: valid symptoms and time course. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2007;9(3):315–327.
- Robinson JD, Li L, Chen M, et al. Evaluating the temporal relationships between withdrawal symptoms and smoking relapse. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2019.
- Bolman C, et al. Predicting smoking lapses in the first week of quitting: an ecological momentary assessment study. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 2017.
- Cancer Council WA. Triggers for relapse from an attempt to quit smoking, 2025.
- Better Health Channel, Victorian Department of Health. What to expect when you quit smoking.
- Quit, Cancer Council Victoria. What is nicotine withdrawal?