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After many years of smoking I am concerned that I should give up while I still can. I have smoked for so long that I can hardly imagine not smoking but I know I must stop and I know it will be hard to do. I have been trying to find the best way to stop and I thought others would be interested too.

There used to be no alternatives and in the past if you wanted to stop smoking you just stopped and then tried to use your willpower to overcome the craving for smoking. Thousands of people have stopped this way and many still do it this way. You do need to be totally convinced that you want to be a non-smoker and if you are this may work and you will stop smoking cigarettes.

You may be able to deal with your body craving nicotine but what do you do with your hands? If you have become used to holding a cigarette between your fingers then the absence of that can be a problem for some people. Overcoming this physical habit can be done with a dummy cigarette which gives you the reassuring feeling you need. Some think these are silly but it can make all the difference between succeeding or not.

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best so try smelling an ashtray. It stinks doesn’t it. Every time you want a cigarette go and smell an ashtray. It is very unpleasant and a great reminder of just what is happening to your lungs. Smelling an ashtray every time you are tempted to smoke should slow down you smoking and might just put you off forever.

Nicotine patches are a more recent development and some people find these very effective. The idea is that by putting a patch on your skin which releases small amounts of nicotine into your body the cravings are reduced. They are quite expensive but it is only for a few weeks or months and they usually cost less than the smoking does .

One slightly surprising way to help you stop smoking is acupuncture. The ideas behind acupuncture have been around for thousands of years and for some people it is an effective way of helping them to stop smoking. My brother tried this and stopped smoking for several years but then started again. Maybe with a few more treatments he might not have started again but this may be a very effective way to stop smoking for some people.

Willpower is the key to controlling any habit and if you can strenthen your resolve to stop smoking then that will help you enormously. This seems to be the idea with hypnosis so that your subconcious mind becomes more convinced that you do not want to smoke a cigarette at all. I have not tried this myself but it seems that some people have found this a very effective way of overcoming their desire for a cigarette.

Filed under: Health & Fitness