AssistQuitSmoking.com

Welcome to AssistQuitSmoking.com.

Check back often for new features and content. If this is your first visit to this site, continue reading to get some introductory information about quitting smoking.

So you're thinking about quitting smoking?

Let's face it though. Anybody who has been smoking for any length of time is probably thinking about quitting. Today you are going to learn about this serious addiction and how you can beat it for good!

Smoking is the most insidious kind of addiction there is and one of the most difficult to quit. Most smokers begin when they are young and naive. No smoker believes they will become addicted when they first begin. That first cigarette made you dizzy and nauseous. How could anyone become addicted to this? Yet, slowly but surely a new smoker is born. First you are smoking only a few a day with your young peers. It seemed fashionable and cool. However, before too long you are smoking a pack a day. It is at this point that the idea to quit smoking often begins to enter peoples minds

Smokers have many reasons for wanting to quit.

Firstly, smoking is very expensive. If the smoker is financially well off this may not be their primary reason to quit smoking and they may just consider it an acceptable vice. Unfortunately, some smokers are not so well off. Imagine if you quit, how you could be spending that money! Enough for a luxury vacation or to remodel a room in your home! At the very least it is enough to significantly raise your standard of living. Better food, better clothes, better everything! The financial benefits you will reap when you quit smoking are a tremendous incentive!

However, realistically, money is not the most important reason you should consider quitting smoking. The dire consequences to your health are well documented and well known. Every smoker knows they are taking health risks by smoking, exposing themselves to the possibility of heart and lung disease, which can potentially be fatal. There is a certain "smoker mentality", however, that that sort of thing only will happen to other people. Smokers have to tell themselves that, as a comfort against the true reality of what they are doing to their bodies. But there is good news! If you quit smoking today, those risks begin to reduce immediately and over time after quitting smoking, the risks can be reduced to the level of someone who has never smoked. It is never too late to quit and you are never too old to realize tremendous physical improvements from quitting.

Then there is the social aspect. It is becoming less and less popular and you can smoke in fewer and fewer places. I remember the glory days of smoking when you could enjoy your coffee and cigarette in your favorite cafe or puff away while enjoying a few drinks in your favorite watering hole. Those days are long gone! The glamour of smoking has all but disappeared as more people quit and more governments establish anti-smoking laws in public places. Smoking has been reduced to a private hell. You can stink up your house and car or sneak outside of bars and restaurants to get your smoking fix. Even then you must stand far away from public entrances. Anything "cool" about smoking is history! When you quit smoking, you can start to enjoy these places again, your house and clothes will smell fresh and your sense of taste and smell will return to you. Food will taste better. The list goes on,but let go of the notion that there is anything cool about smoking. The time to quit is NOW!

So how to Quit Smoking?

That's the big question isn't it? And for such a big question there actually ARE an awful lot of useful answers. Many people HAVE quit! In many cases it is a question of trial and error and repeated efforts to quit smoking. What works for one person may not work for another and while one person may quit on their first attempt, another may require several concerted efforts. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you must keep trying until you find what works for you. Some may be able to quit cold turkey if they have the willpower for it, while others may need the assistance of nicotine replacement therapy, medications, specialized plans, natural medicine or an addictions service to stop smoking. There is no shame in needing additional assistance to fight such a difficult addiction. The most important thing is the end result. That you stop smoking now and forever! Even a failed attempt can be looked upon in a positive light if you learned something from it. Just because you've failed to quit before doesn't mean you are going to fail to quit the next time.

Try to look at each attempt as a learning experience and really analyze what it was that tripped you up. Then you can make plans for your next attempt to try to overcome the weakness. For many, smoking is a complicated addiction and quitting requires some amount of self analysis. You must know your enemy well before you can defeat it. This is what many quit smoking plans attempt to get you to do. You must know when you smoke. You must know why you smoke. You must understand the nature of your personal addiction completely before you can stop.

Quit Smoking Attempts can be classified into the following categories:

Cold Turkey is just what you would imagine. You just stop smoking without any available assistance from nicotine replacement or medications. You will suffer the most severe withdrawel symptoms compared to other methods.

Cutting back to quit is where you gradually reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke over a period of time, usually several weeks in length. It can be useful in easing the percent of your day you spend in a state of withdrawel, but it "prolongs the pain" in a way.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy in the form of gum, patches or lozenges keeps nicotine in your system while you work on the psychological withdrawel and establish new lifestyle habits. However you still must go through withdrawel at the end of the usually 12 week program as you wean yourself off the replacement.

There are also prescription medications you can take that will remove the desire to smoke in a natural fashion in a certain percentage of users. Many people have successfully quit using Wellbutrin (Zyban) and Champix but for some reason only 15-30% of the population responds to the medications.

Alternative therapies such as accupuncture or hypnosis are purported to be helpful with addictions. And of course there are many Self Help Options to get you to quit smoking.

Consider Addictions Counselling to increase your chances of quitting smoking

Studies have shown that consumers who enlist the aid of addictions counselling stand a greater chance of quitting. Many communities now offer addictions counselling in the form of group sessions or even one-on-one counselling. Addictions Counselling will help you to analyse your smoking habit and discover the reasons why you smoke and what obstacles stand in the way of your quitting.