When you examine how long you have been smoking cigarettes and/or using other tobacco products and how much you use on a daily basis now, your decision to quit smoking may be the most important decision you have made in your life. You have finally decided to take control of your life again and become healthy.

Little did you know that when you started smoking quitting would be one of the hardest things you would ever do. Nicotine is absolutely the hardest drug to quit. You really do have some options to look at now that you have decided to quit. Look these options over very carefully.

One of your first options will be to either develop a plan to follow or just stop willy-nilly and see what happens. Developing short-term, even daily, goals will help you on your trek to a smoke-free life. Sticking to your plan will help you endure the irrational beliefs and triggers you will have as you work to succeed in your attempt to stop smoking. These irrational beliefs and triggers will be discussed in a future article.

One of your best options is looking at any aids that may help you quit. You should always talk to your doctor before using any aid to stop smoking. Although people have been known to become "secondarily addicted" to the stop smoking aid, it is highly recommended that you have a way to wean yourself off any aide used. Do try what you want, but be advised that not all aids work for everyone, use your discretion.

The next option you will have is when you quit smoking. Some folks just "stopped" and others picked a date to stop. Choose what you want to do. Although the anticipation of a start date may be what really gets you excited and ready to stop, just stopping will also work if you look at your plan and just charge through. Which ever you do--follow through with your plan!

I the early stages of quitting you may really need to avoid others who smoke and people who are negative to you about your quitting. Your self-esteem or self-worth will be fragile and you may slide back into smoking very easily. Stay with positive people and make sure they are nonsmokers.

The last thing to discuss when you quit smoking is your determination. If you are not determined and committed to quit you will find the road to a smoke-free lifestyle a little more bumpy to travel. These are possibly the two most critical factors in your plan.