How To Quit Smoking

No one pretends that giving up smoking is easy and this is borne out by the large numbers of people who try to quit and then start again after a few weeks or months. One survey has shown that 70% of all smokers would like to quit, but only 7% were still free of the habit after a year. But times are changing, more and more countries are imposing smoking bans both on public buildings and private commercial premises such as restaurants and bars. So the pressure on smokers is growing as are the number of products and services to help people to quit. All of which must be good news for all those who want to stop smoking but have not yet succeeded.

The reasons for stopping smoking are clear, health and cost. Smoking is a major cause of heart disease and lung cancer as well as many other conditions. According to the American Cancer Society smoking is the cause of 87% of lung cancer deaths and 30% of deaths from other forms of cancer. As to cost, it is estimated that the 45 million Americans who smoke spend some $4 billion a month on their habit.

There are a large number of quit smoking products and services available today, ranging from herbal supplements and prescription drugs to acupuncture and hypnosis. Products to help you overcome the nicotine craving come in the form of pills, lozenges, gum and patches. Other methods include counseling and group therapies. These will be discussed in greater detail on subsequent pages.

To succeed in giving up smoking you have to overcome two problems. Nicotine withdrawal is the largest of these and this is where pills can help. You also have to break the habits associated with cigarettes. Think about the times and places where you automatically reach for your pack. Try to vary your routine so that you no longer receive the automatic messages that "this is where I always pull out a cigarette".

Although giving up smoking is difficult, the public pressure of smoking bans and the availability of new products and services makes quitting easier than it has been in the past. The one essential element that you have to provide is the decision to stop smoking. Without this no pills or treatments will have any chance of success. So if you really want to quit, make your decision and with the help of the modern quit smoking aids you will find that the process is not as hard as you imagined.

The e cigarette is a new invention in nicotine replacement therapy.