Cold turkey - wikipedia Cold turkey For other uses, see Cold turkey ( disambiguation ). `` Cold turkey '' refers to the abrupt cessation of a substance dependence and the resulting unpleasant experience, as opposed to gradually easing the process through reduction over time or by using replacement medication. The term comes from the piloerection or `` goose bumps '' that occurs with abrupt withdrawal from opioids, which resembles the skin of a plucked refrigerated turkey. Sudden withdrawal from drugs such as alcohol, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates can be extremely dangerous, leading to potentially fatal seizures. For long - term alcoholics, going cold turkey can cause life - threatening delirium tremens, rendering this an inappropriate method for breaking an alcohol addiction. In the case of opioid withdrawal, going `` cold turkey '' is extremely unpleasant but less dangerous. Life - threatening issues are unlikely unless one has a pre-existing medical condition. Smoking cessation methods advanced by J. Wayne McFarland and Elman J. Folkenburg ( an M.D. and a pastor who wrote their Five Day Plan ca. 1959 ), Joel Spitzer and John R. Polito ( smoking cessation educators ) and Allen Carr ( who founded Easyway during the early 1980s ) are cold turkey plans. Contents 1 Etymology 2 In popular culture 2.1 Film 2.2 Television 2.3 Music 2.4 Video games 3 See also 4 References Etymology An early printed use of the term from 1920 : Some addicts voluntarily stop taking opiates and `` suffer it out '' as they express it without medical assistance, a process which in their slang is called taking `` cold turkey ''... Another early printed use of the term in the media to refer to drug withdrawal occurred in the Daily Colonist in British Columbia in 1921 : Perhaps the most pitiful figures who have appeared before Dr. Carleton Simon... are those who voluntarily surrender themselves. When they go before him, that are given what is called the ' cold turkey ' treatment. The phrase `` taking cold turkey '' has also been reported during the 1920s as slang for pleading guilty. The term is later seen in the 1947 novel I, The Jury ' by Mickey Spillane : Included was a medical record from the hospital when he had made her go cold turkey, which is dope - addict talk for an all - out cure. On February 26, 1951 Time magazine article `` High & Light '' used the phrase, stating : There is one dimly hopeful side to the teenage dope problem. Unlike older people, few teenagers appear to take to drugs because of psychological troubles ; youngsters usually start using narcotics either out of ignorance or the same reckless impulses which lead them to race hot rods. Though they are easier to wean, however, there are almost no facilities for taking care of them. On New York City 's Rikers Island, youngsters have to endure the horrors of a sudden `` cold turkey '' cure or get none at all. Once released, many go right back to drugs again. There are several explanations of the phrase 's origin : The `` goose bumps '' ( piloerection ) that occurs with sudden discontinuation in persons dependent on opioids, frequently persons addicted to heroin. Similarly the term `` kick the habit '' alludes to the muscle spasms that also occur. A narrowing of the meaning `` suddenly or without preparation '', from cold turkey being a dish that requires little preparation ; originally used for heroin addicts. From the American phrase talk turkey meaning `` to speak bluntly with little preparation ''. In popular culture This article appears to contain trivial, minor, or unrelated references to popular culture. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject 's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances ; add references to reliable sources if possible. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( November 2017 ) Instances of the phrase 's use in popular culture include : Film Norman Lear 's 1971 movie Cold Turkey, about a small town that gives up smoking to win $25,000,000 French Connection II ( 1975 ) had Gene Hackman 's NYCPD Jimmy `` Popeye '' Doyle lead character suffering this after the drug ring he was pursuing captured him and forced heroin on him while keeping him prisoner. In Trainspotting ( 1996 ), Renton goes cold turkey after overdosing on heroin. Television Kojak episode `` Sweeter Than Life '' has one of the title character 's cousins going through cold turkey ( 1975 ) Hollyoaks `` Episode 4429 '' sees cold turkey as the only plot with character Ste Hay ( 2016 ) Wentworth episode `` Smitten '' sees character Allie Novak going through cold turkey. ( 2016 ) Music John Lennon 's song `` Cold Turkey '' ( 1969 ), about giving up heroin Green Day 's song `` Hitchin ' A Ride '' ( 1997 ), main singer says `` cold turkey 's getting stale '', in a hidden reference to the state Cage 's song `` This Place '' ( 2013 ), wherein he sings : `` I ca n't believe I made it out with so little damage / Back then I thought cold turkey was a fuckin ' sandwich '' Video games Fallout 2 ( post-apocalyptic cRPG, 1998 ) : Myron mentions going cold turkey as the only cure for Jet addiction. See also Look up cold turkey in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Smoking cessation Drug withdrawal References ^ Jump up to : Hales, Robert E. ; Yudofsky, Stuart C. ; Roberts, Laura Weiss ( 2014 ). The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry, Sixth Edition. American Psychiatric Publishing. p. 779. ISBN 9781585624447. ^ Jump up to : Ghodse, Hamid ( 2010 ). Ghodse 's Drugs and Addictive Behaviour : A Guide to Treatment. Cambridge University Press. p. 77. ISBN 9781139485678. Jump up ^ Hughes, John R. ( 2009 ). `` Alcohol withdrawal seizures ''. Epilepsy & Behavior. 15 ( 2 ) : 92 -- 7. doi : 10.1016 / j. yebeh. 2009.02. 037. PMID 19249388. Jump up ^ Opiate withdrawal. Medline Plus -- NIH. Jump up ^ `` New book details history of LLU bringing ' Health to the People ' ''. Loma Linda University. March 31, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2010. Jump up ^ McFarland, J. Wayne ; Folkenberg, Elman J. ( 1964 ). `` The Five - Day Plan to Quit Smoking '' ( PDF ). University Health Services, University of Wisconsin. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on June 10, 2010. Retrieved May 22, 2010. Jump up ^ `` WhyQuit ''. WhyQuit. Retrieved May 22, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Allen Carr Worldwide ''. Allen Carr. Retrieved May 22, 2010. Jump up ^ The Narcotic Drug Problem Arthur D. Greenfield. December 1920. Monthly Bulletin of the Department of Health in the City of New York, Volume 10 Jump up ^ Movers and Shakers : A Chronology of Words that Shaped Our Age, by John Ayto Jump up ^ Statistical Report. New York ( N.Y. ). Police Dept. Page 192. 1924. Jump up ^ `` Cold turkey '' in the Online Etymology Dictionary. Jump up ^ `` cold turkey '' definition, Dictionary.com. Jump up ^ Green Day Song Hitchin ' A Ride & common sense Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cold_turkey&oldid=821868152 '' Categories : Drug rehabilitation Substance dependence Slang Hidden categories : Articles with trivia sections from November 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی עברית Latina Nederlands Polski Svenska West - Vlams Edit links This page was last edited on 23 January 2018, at 02 : 28. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the origin of the phrase going cold turkey
Answer: the piloerection or "goose bumps" that occurs with abrupt withdrawal from opioids, which resembles the skin of a plucked refrigerated turkey