How To Stop Smoking - The Best Options

Many smokers would like to quit and you might be looking for information on how to stop smoking having made unsuccessful attempts in the past.

This is not unusual as quitting smoking requires determination 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 problem is that smoking is both a physical and psychological addiction and beating the physical addition is the easy part (relatively).

People smoke because:

• It is a pleasurable experience and relaxes the smoker.• Smokers have developed an unconscious link between certain

activities and environments and smoking.• The physical addiction to nicotine.

As an alternative to quitting smoking you might think about using electronic cigarettes. These are not sold as stop smoking aids but they do make smoking cheaper, cleaner and harmless to others. It is also up to you have much nicotine they give you (if any).

Some of the common ways to stop smoking are:

Going Cold TurkeyObviously the most simple and least costly way but with a low success rate. You pick a date and from that point you no longer smoke. The first few weeks are very tough and you need to be very determined to succeed. The success rate is estimated to be between 5% and 10%.

Nicotine ReplacementThis involves replacing nicotine from cigarettes with other sources such as nicotine gum or a nicotine patch. 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. As an alternative you might consider natural alternatives (such as Smoke Deter) which have the same purpose.

Various TherapiesBehavioral 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.

HypnosisHypnosis should be given serious consideration as it has probably the highest rate of success of any stop smoking aid - up to fifty percent. 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.

Hypnosis will not work for everyone, but it is well worth trying.

ConclusionTrying to stop smoking on your own is very difficult and likely to fail. Support of some sort will increase your chance of success considerably and using something to help with the nicotine withdrawal, combined with hypnosis or behavioral therapy to address the psychological addiction, is the best solution to how to stop smoking.