Side effects from quitting smoking?

Yes, it is normal to cough like you're hacking out a lung. This will p in a few weeks. The cilia in your lungs start to recover as soon as you stop smoking. Cilia act as a filter for your lungs, smoking anesthesizes the cilia so they don't work properly. Coughing is a reaction to the filter system, like if you inhale a cloud of dust, you will cough to get it out of your lungs. This is why people cough when they first start smoking, it is your lungs way of reacting to a foreign substance.