THE Smokefree campaign "Stoptober", which started on 1 October, aims to provide impetus and support for those wanting to stop smoking. One of my dispensers decided to join in and our preregistration trainee suggested that the rest of the staff also give up something in a show of support. Being a man of few vices, I struggled to contribute. Someone suggested I give up red wine, which I interpreted as some sort of joke. Attention then switched to my tea consumption, and eventually I agreed to give up drinking tea at work. I am well aware of the side effects associated with caffeine withdrawal, which can be so clinically significant that the condition is included as a diagnosis by the World Health Organization. They include headache, fatigue, anxiety and flu-like symptoms.
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