Did you know……..
Caffeine is metabolized twice as fast in smokers vs. nonsmokers. This results in a sudden doubling of caffeine levels in someone who quits smoking. One source even suggests that “The C/D [concentration-dose ratio] of caffeine appears to be threefold to fourfold as high among nonsmokers compared with smokers. This higher ratio means that smokers need three to four times the caffeine “dosage” as nonsmokers on average to get the same plasma caffeine levels.” Click here for reference.
Nicotine withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, irritability and agitation are challenging enough when quitting smoking. But these symptoms will be magnified if a heavy caffeine user quits smoking.
The takeaway……..
If you quit smoking (and you should), you should also cut your caffeine intake in half (which is doubly good for you).YOUR BODY ONLY NEEDS HALF THE CAFFEINE AS A NONSMOKER TO DO THE SAME JOB AS A SMOKER.
Daily caffeine intake should be considered in any discussion about tobacco cessation. While reducing caffeine intake can seem scary (especially when quitting smoking), it’s a good idea. You will not experience caffeine withdrawal if you reduce caffeine at the same time as quitting smoking. With this knowledge, smokers can be confident that they can safely reduce their caffeine at the same time. If withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety were barriers to quitting smoking in the past, adjusting caffeine intake on a subsequent quit attempt will likely improve success with quitting.
It has been shown that tobacco users are among the highest caffeine consumers, which validates the relevance of this conversation.
What’s more……
If you are a heavy caffeine drinker who has had trouble sleeping on past quit attempts-BINGO-skyrocketing caffeine levels are likely the problem.
So not only does elevated caffeine magnify nasty nicotine withdrawal symptoms, but it interferes with sleep which can contribute to a number of other problems.
Something else…..
It turns out that two antipsychotic drugs, olanzapine and clozapine (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder), are also broken down by the same enzyme as caffeine, so smoking will reduce the effect of these drugs, too. In other words, higher doses of these medications will be necessary to manage symptoms in smokers vs. nonsmokers. I suspect this is a particularly important consideration for smokers taking these drugs who are thinking about quitting smoking because sudden changes in the concentration of these drugs can be detrimental (side effects).