Day 3 after quitting smokingOne of the hardest days

By Yevhenii, who smoked for 26 years · Updated 30 Oct 2026 · 2 min read

In shortDay three is often the hardest, with withdrawal at its strongest in the first three days, according to the NHS. Cravings, a short temper and feeling tired and wired are all withdrawal and usually ease from tomorrow.

What's happening in your body

Withdrawal symptoms rise through the first days and for most people they peak inside the first week, often right around now. By tonight even the cotinine is close to gone, so from here on nothing chemical from tobacco is left in you. In the lungs the bronchial tubes begin to relax, and the NHS lists easier breathing and more energy from about seventy-two hours.

What to expect

For many people this is the hardest day of all. The NHS puts it plainly. Withdrawal is usually strongest in the first week, especially the first three days. More cravings than yesterday, a shorter temper, a tired and wired feeling together. It tends to ease from tomorrow. Feeling tired and wired at once is what throws people most, so here is why.

Nicotine is a stimulant that has been driving the arousal system from outside for years; without it the system runs unevenly, and the body manages to be exhausted and unsettled in the same minute. Sleep, appetite and attention behave just as unevenly. These are withdrawal symptoms, not a sign that something is wrong with your body, and they end.

For most people all of it is back to its usual level within two to four weeks. If your mood drops sharply or you feel you cannot cope, that is worth saying to a GP or pharmacist; it is what they are for.

Try this

When a craving comes today, give it ten minutes before you decide anything. Set a timer if it helps. A craving that has been waited out once is easier to wait out the second time.

What else you could do

Look at the hours when a cigarette was fixed, and replace the things you did together with it. Go to bed early. A day that ends at ten is shorter than one that ends at one. And if today is unmanageable, a pharmacist can explain nicotine replacement; patches, gum and sprays ease withdrawal, and using them is not smoking.

Sources. Hughes, 2007. NHS Better Health, Quit smoking. NHS Better Health, Managing nicotine withdrawal symptoms.