How to Quit Smoking

There are many different ways to quit smoking. These range from hypnosis to herbal medications. However, not all methods are suitable for everyone. One method that works for one person might not be the best approach for the other person. For this reason, I am going to describe five effective ways in this article that ARE possible for almost every person who is suffering from the most crippling addiction of all the time - SMOKING.

Cigarette smoking mainly involves two factors, namely:

• Nicotine addiction
  
• Psychological addiction

Any approach to permanently quit smoking must address these two components in order to be successful. The five proven ways that follow this philosophy are:

• Wean yourself out of this habit by using nicotine replacement products, such as nicotine patches or nicotine gum. These products are easily available over the counter (without a prescription). This method works best when you combine it with cognitive therapy that addresses the emotional aspect of the addiction.
  
• Wean yourself off of nicotine through "nicotine fading." This approach involves progressively switching over to cigarette brands that contain lower and lower nicotine levels before quitting altogether -- a recommended plan is to switch over once a week for 3 weeks to brands with 30%, 60%, and then 90% less nicotine than you started with. One advantage to this system is that you can gradually get rid of the ill effects of nicotine without having to experience a full blast of with-drawl symptoms, since your body is incrementally introduced to the changes in the chemical levels.
  
• One effective approach for addressing your smoking habit is "relapse prevention." This typically involves identification of your personal "triggers," or "situations" for smoking, and then coming up with "coping behaviors" for dealing with them. Triggers can be a wide multitude of things -- people, places, events, emotions, etc. Some instances for these triggers are anxiety, parties, stress, and anger. Once you've identified the instances that are prone to put you at risk for relapsing after you've quit, you can come up with ways to cope with them. For example, if you smoke while you are anxious, you can remind yourself to relax by counting from 10 to 1 instead of heading for a cigarette. If you tend to dive into your pocket for a cigarette when you are bored, you can keep a list of things that you can do in your spare time, and do these in order to distract yourself. If you have a will, the possibilities for these coping strategies are endless!
  
• One effective approach to address your smoking habit is to propose a quit smoking contract with yourself -- Schedule to give yourself small rewards for every successful day, and larger rewards for longer periods of time, that you don't smoke.
  
• One more proven strategy to quit smoking is to form some sort of a support system - ask a non smoking friend or a family member to be your companion, who can help you stay on track and encourage you on your way independence.

Last but not the least, the most successful approach to quit smoking is to combine all of the above methods simultaneously. This way, your journey is most likely to lead to the much anticipated destination. If you fail once, it's OK. Keep trying. Never give up, and it's only a matter of time before you are smoke-free.