I got this email the other day:

I smoke about 6 cigarettes a day and I want to quit. I know that’s not a lot, but I hate everything about it. Any thoughts? Should I try cold turkey and just suck up the side effects? I’ve tried before but unsuccessfull. Any thoughts welcome, but please no bashing. Thanks!

You can quit cold turkey, which works great for a lot of people, or you can try a quit smoking aid. You just have to be consistent. You have to keep trying if you fail, and if you keep trying you can’t help but succeed eventually. The best advice is to just set a date, plan for it, and then throw away all the smoking materials, matches, ashtrays, lighters, etc. Go on a trip if you can, for a few days, or bury yourself in work or at school. Don’t drink booze for a while, it lowers your inhibitions and resistance. Give yourself some light negative reinforcement whenever you think about smoking–like walk around the block, do 10 or 20 pushups, or pinch yourself unpleasantly on the arm. Just don’t hurt yourself. Anyway, good luck.

There is such a thing as a stop smoking shot, and though I’ve heard of some people have limited success using this method, quitting all boils down to just having will power and a serious WANT to quit.  If you’re going to seek out the help of a qualified professional to make this life altering change, and you’re willing to shell out big bucks for quitting aids, then you’d better really be ready to make a commitment to a non-smoking lifestyle!

If you’re considering quitting and you think you’re going to need help, talk to your doctor.  There are lots of ways out there to make kicking the habit a less painful endeavor.

I’ve been hearing a lot of good things aobut the stop smoking laser lately.  It seems to me that the rate of success with this method of quitting smoking is going up.  Anyone have any new information?  Leave a comment!

There’s so many different quit smoking aids on the market, some of them affordable and some pretty pricey.  My neighbor recently quit with just the aid of chewing gum, and she was quitting a pack a day habit.  She said she got the idea because a friend of hers swore by sugar-free suckers, so she figured maybe half of her problem was just habit, just plain old oral fixation.

And lo and behold!  It worked.  So don’t get discouraged – different things work for different people.

There’s a lot of hype out there surrounding stop smoking medication.  However, here’s a letter I got from a reader, and it advocated trying a few other more holistic methods first.

First, practice deep breathing every time you feel that urge to smoke a cigarette. Make sure to inhale a lung-full of air that you can muster in one breath. Then, let the air escape through your lips slowly. This simple act is a basic form of yoga and can be useful when you are placed in stressful situations that may urge you to light up a cigarette.

Second, it is always advisable to take in a lot of fluid. There’s nothing water can’t heal, goes one famous saying, and it stands true because drinking large amounts of water will aid your body to wash out the nicotine and other toxins that corrupt your body.

Third, write down all the positive things of being a non-smoker. Jotting down these advantages will open your eyes and enlighten your frame of thinking which was primarily clouded with the addiction to smoking. Be sure to read aloud all the good things that you’ve written down. In this way, you get to condition yourself to avoid thinking of going back to your addiction.

Fourth, indulge in simple pleasures. You can try pampering yourself by enjoying a day at a spa to release all the bad vibes and stressful tensions that may serve as impetus to your smoking spree.
Fifth, find the will to destroy all your cigarette stash. Be sure to hide or completely destroy all of your cigarette supplies or anything related to smoking (e.g. ashtrays). The principle behind this rule is quite simple: out of sight, out of mind. Having your favorite lighter lying around your room or around your house won’t make it easier for you. This is quite similar to the process of being over someone. Forgetting becomes more difficult when familiar stuffs that can lead you back to that someone is scattered all over your living room.

Good Luck!