[Hooly One]

Over the past week it's been obvious to all that the lack of cigarettes has hit hard upon heavy smoker Nadia. But what exactly is she going through and how will it affect the remainder of her stay in the house? DS:BB investigates.

It's entirely common for a regular smoker to be adversely affected when faced with nicotine withdrawal. "Side-effects include cravings, sleep disturbance, and irritation," says Lindi Maqhubela of the UK smoking charity QUIT. "A person's mood can also be affected, perhaps causing mood swings, tearfulness and headaches."

Certainly that is true of Nadia, who has been involved in numerous heated arguments with her house nemesis Jason in recent days. So what steps can she take towards quitting if faced with further cigarette shortages in future?

"If Nadia is ready and committed to quitting first she needs to set a quit date," explains Maqhubela. "She would then need to prepare and devise a plan on how she is going to cope without cigarettes. She could discuss this with other housemates, as she'll need their support. There are several forms of nicotine replacement available to help - namely, patches, gum, lozenge, nasal spray, inhalator and sublingual (under the tongue) tablets.

"Zyban is a non-nicotine treatment to help smokers who are motivated to quit. It is only available on NHS prescription from a GP, so Big Brother would need to arrange for a GP to visit Nadia in the house to discuss it's suitability. Zyban works by breaking the addiction to nicotine and differs from nicotine replacement therapies in that it does not substitute one source of nicotine with another. It also reduces the cravings for cigarettes and the withdrawal symptoms, clinical trials demonstrate that Zyban doubles the chances of success."

One other side-effect of Nadia's nicotine withdrawal has been her standing as the bookies favourite. The latest odds now place her joint-second with Daniel at 3/1, overtaken by Michelle, who is the new favourite at 2/1.

"Nadia's position as bookies favourite has come under pressure in recent days and the main reason for it is the mood swings caused by her lack of nicotine," says Warren Lush of Ladbrokes. "If Nadia were to go without a cigarette for the rest of the series there is no way she can win."

DS BB

[golden~rose]

it would be good if nadia started to quit smoking inside the house, it would show that she is a survivor and definately increases the chances of winning!!

[Lance]

Agreed isha but i don't think she could do it in such a stressful environment!

[Mike]

I can understand that she needs her fags but surely before she went in the house she knew that she might have to put up with not having any, i just cant work her out and theres no way i want her to win now.

[Hooly One]

I agree lance

[golden~rose]

no way, i dont think can quit in the house, especially as there is limited activity apart from socialising and doing tasks!! but when she leaves i think she might get plenty of support if she wants to quit.

[Kore]

nadia, QUIT smoking, you have got to be having a laugh isha, ROFL

[Sunny_01]

Hmm the whole smoking thing annoys me ( I am a smoker ) but I certainly dont think that on any of the other BBs would they have let a housemate cry and then give them their own way - I thought this BB was ALL evil

[Tina_2004]

Smoking is really bad for her and the people around her! She can't survive 1 day without a cigarette!! That just shows she isn't a strong person. Maybe she's depressed about not having a d**k!!

Tina's Big Bro!

[JC]

It's cos they knew she'd leave the house rather than go a couple of weeks without fags. It's people like her that make me damn glad I never started smoking.

[Tina_2004]

Me 2 JC!!

[Sunny_01]

Ok so we get it you dont like nadia but you are going to end up getting your little sisters user name banned and that would be a shame so try to cool it with the sexual comments

[Tina_2004]

So my little sister is a b***h, I dont even like her

[Sunny_01]

Come on mate you dont have to like her just respect her a little bit

[Tina_2004]

MY STUPID BROTHER!! How can I make my name automatically sign off when I leave the website?? Please help my brother is such a stupid a** hole!

[JC]

You can log out manually. It's a bit of a pain, but it seems like it might be a good idea in your case.

[Sunny_01]

I agree Tina hun - you need to log out at the top of the homepage and log back in to save anything else like this happening again.

[Tina_2004]

Ok thanks. My brother has been grounded for a month because my dad said it was my private account! YAY!

[JC]

yay for small victories!

[bananarama]

The government should use Nadia in their anti smoking adverts. If her behavour can't induce smokers to give up their suicide sticks then nothing will.

[golden~rose]

that would be a good idea to encourage smokers to give up when they see that nadia has given up (if shes gives up!)

[Hooly One]

That will never happen,you've seen what she's like just after going without fags for 3 days.

[golden~rose]

i know, it would be hard for someone like her, perosnally i dont even think she wants to quit!!!

[flyfly5]

I think some people forget that Nadia is also going through withdrawals of her friend Marco

[Addict]

I agree with you, she was also bonding quite well with becki and nadia was sad to see her leave