A lot of smokers want to stop and it might be that you are seeking info on quitting smoking having made previous unsuccessful attempts.
It is not uncommon to be in this position as stopping smoking is not easy and you need to really make a very firm decision to do so. You might find it helpful to list the reasons for quitting on paper and review these if you start wavering.
The difficulty with stopping smoking is there are both physical and mental addictions to beat and both must be conquered if you are to permanently quit smoking.
People smoke because:
* It provides relaxation and pleasure.
* Smokers have developed an unconscious link between certain activities and environments and smoking.
* The physical addiction to nicotine.
Rather than stopping smoking you might consider switching to an electronic cigarette. People have used these to stop smoking although they are not marketed for this purpose but they do have the benefits of making it less costly, cleaner and no harm is caused to anyone else. You can also choose how much, if any, nicotine they supply.
Some of the common ways to stop smoking are:
Going Cold Turkey
Obviously the most simple and least costly way but with a low success rate. You simply decide that from a given date you will stop smoking. The first few weeks are very tough and you need to be very determined to succeed. Estimates of the percentage of people trying this method who succeed vary between 5-10%.
Nicotine Replacement
Products such as nicotine patches or gum are used to replace that previously received from cigarettes. They deliver a controlled dose into the body to relieve some of the withdrawal symptoms. Success rates for these treatments are difficult to ascertain with wide variations being reported.
Use Medication
Medicines (e.g. Zyban) provide relief from withdrawal symptoms but can only be used for a limited time period and there are possible side effects. There are also homeopathic remedies (such as Smoke Deter) which have the same purpose.
Therapies
Behavioral Therapy (which teaches how to break old habits associated with smoking) and Motivational Therapy (to help you motivate yourself to quit smoking) can both help considerably. Indeed help and support in the form of counseling or stop smoking programs should an integral part of any attempt to quit smoking.
Hypnosis
When considering how to stop smoking, hypnosis should be taken seriously as it has success rates of up to 50%. quit smoking hypnosis is based on reprogramming the subconscious mind to stop associating smoking with pleasure and relaxation and to substitute some other behavior. It also seeks to break the link between certain situations and actions which trigger the need to smoke.
Some people are better subjects for hypnosis than others (men are generally better subjects than women) so success is not guaranteed. But it is worth a try.
Best Option
Trying to stop smoking on your own is very difficult and likely to fail. Support of some sort is necessary and will increase your chance of success considerably. It may be that taking something to help with the nicotine withdrawal, together with hypnosis or other therapy to help with the mental addiction, is the best solution to how to stop smoking.
