Collins - Stop Smoking

Stopping smokingand staying stoppedis a challenge. According to surveys, the vast majority of smokers would like to stop but most will try an average of six times before they finally succeed. The good news is that no matter how addicted you think you are, it can be done. There are millions of ex-smokers in the US to prove it, and they cant all have superhuman willpower, extraordinary strength of character, and nails bitten down to the quick. If you choose the right method for you, it may not even be difficult at all. The aim of this book is to help you find the easiest way to get free of your nicotine habit, and stay free for the rest of your life.

Every smoker has their own reasons for smoking and their own fears about quitting, so in this book youll be given the tools to create an individual plan that takes into account your physical and psychological profile, giving you the best chance of success next time you decide to quit. Even if you have smoked 40 a day for the last 40 years, it neednt be a struggle to quit if you find the right method. In fact, it is often harder for the occasional social smoker or one-a-day smoker to let go than it is for a chain-smoker. Nicotine leaves the body completely within a few days, so the physical withdrawal wont take long, but a psychological connection that links cigarettes with reward or stress relief or peace and quiet is harder to break. But dont worry. There are lots of very successful ways to break that mental link.

There are almost as many methods to quit smoking as there are to lose weight. Like the diet industry, the quit-smoking industry churns out bestselling books, videos, and tapes or CDs offering advice and tips; there are numerous websites, courses, support groups, and telephone helplines available to reinforce your decision; your doctor or pharmacist can supply nicotine replacements to help you through the first weeks; and complementary medicine has a wide range of suggestions to ease the process.

However, not all quit-smoking aids will work for everyone. For example, if you only tend to smoke when you are upset or stressed, you dont need nicotine replacement therapies; if the psychological approach offered by quit-smoking gurus like Allen Carr and others appeals to you, they advise that you dont combine it with any other method; and some techniques seem to work better for men than women (and vice versa).

Even if youre not ready to give up right now, its still worth reading through the sections, thinking about why you smoke and which methods you would consider when you do try to quit. Plant the seeds in your brain. If youve quit before and then relapsed, try to remember as much as you can about the pressures that made you light up again, so that next time you can avoid them. By choosing methods youve never used before, combined with any that have been helpful in the past, you can give yourself extra ammunition. And if this is your first attempt to quit, choose your plan carefully and you could be one of the lucky 20% who succeed first time.

Part 1 explains how to devise your plan, while Part 2 outlines the main techniques you could choose from. Some of the techniques can be combined while others cant, and youll find advice on compatibility within the descriptions, along with information on how to find a therapist or group. There are some general principles to help you select the technique that will work for you, but you should make up your own mind about which ones to try based on your self-knowledge and instincts. If one appeals to you, why not give it a try? Youve got nothing to loseexcept your smoking habit.

Part 3 has advice on how to stay a nonsmoker, and what to do if you relapse. Dont ever give up quitting! If you keep trying, using different methods each time, you will get there in the end. Its always better to try and fail than not try at all. Even if you only manage a single day without puffing, youve given your system a mini-break and youve proved that you can do it. And if youve managed a day, you might make two or three days next time and thenfinallythe rest of your life.

Good luck!

Choose each of the reasons that applies to you.

• You like the taste.

• Smoking helps you cope with stress.

• You think smoking makes you look attractive or sophisticated.

• Smoking helps you control your weight.

• Smoking helps you concentrate.

• You get nervous at social occasions and smoking gives you something to do with your hands, making you feel more relaxed.

• You couldnt imagine drinking alcohol without a cigarette.

• Smoking is your reward after a hard day, or a difficult meeting, or when you get the kids to bed in the evening.

• Smoking helps you cope with emotional pain.

• Smoking helps relieve boredom.

• Life is bad anyway. Nothing good ever happens to you. No one cares, so you might as well smoke.

• Cigarettes are your little friends. Youve felt a huge sense of loss when youve tried to quit in the past.

• You are hooked on nicotine and cant face the withdrawal symptoms you get when you try to quit.

• Others.

Now read on to see why the leaves of the humble tobacco plant can be so many things to so many people. How do they do it? (For more on the reasons you chose here, see .)