Deciding to quit smoking is probably one of your most important aspects of the quitting process, as your genuine desire to quit will be a major fueling factor.

No one has ever quit before, if they did not genuinely want to stop.

Now that you have decided this, let's recap some of the benefits available to you:

• You'll be able to smell and taste better.
• You'll be healthier, and more resistant to illness
• You will be wealthier as you won't be spending around $150 per month for the average smoker.
• You will find that people around you, particularly at home, will be healthier.
• As a bonus, if you are pregnant, your baby will be healthier, and develop better than if you were a smoker.

Some fairly compelling reasons there alone.

As a general point, smoking is a drug addiction to nicotine. If you have been smoking for some time, your body will 'want' the nicotine, and you may feel the urge to smoke for some days, typically up to around two weeks, from the time you start your quit campaign. I call this a quit campaign, as you are effectively rallying your body to beat an addictive and difficult drug.

There are numerous ways to tackle the quitting process, and I'm not about to be arrogant enough to say one way is better than all the others, as each person is different. However, if you are determined (and you need to be genuine), you can, and will quit.

Also, it is worth listing some of your motivations for stopping too. To explain this better, I like to refer to an incident that occurred to me some time ago.

I was treating a person for a suspected heart attack, as I am an Occupational First Aider, as part of my daily duties. This person was displaying all the typical symptoms of a heart attack, including pain in the left arm, shortness of breath, general pain, sweating, and so on.

Naturally, I called the ambulance people, as well as ensured the person was as comfortable as possible, and as calm as possible.

He was a smoker, and said to me there and then, that he wanted me to throw away his cigarette lighter. It was a nice, gold one, and in this case, he had a serious motivation to stop.

He was on the edge, and had a daughter. He also wanted a second chance.
As it turned out, this person had heart surgery that day, and today, is well, and able to tell this story himself.
I tell the story to express the requirement for motivation. When you have that down pat, you will be better able to stick to the program, of your choice.

In my experience of talking to people about their smoking habit, the majority have said they preferred to stop cold turkey, with the help of a program, as this way, they were able to rid the nicotine, and the whole habit in one go.

Many have also needed a support program in one sense or another, and this is natural, as we all can have weak moments. This is where the support of someone can be a massive help too.