There are many obvious reasons to becoming a nonsmoker: your health improves, you have a longer expected life span, insurance costs are lower and then there is all the extra money you will have from not buying cigarettes. Plus you can avoid getting COPD... and trust me, if you keep smoking you will suffer from this disease.

With all these reasons you think it would be easy to give up smoking. On top of that, we haven't even talked about what secondhand smoke does to your family and friends. To bad the reality is that it is very difficult to become a nonsmoker.

Here are a few ideas to help guide your way to becoming a nonsmoker.

Acknowledge that while it will be hard, it isn't impossible:
People do hard things everyday, you included. There are things that you have done in your life that at first were difficult, but you kept at it and it became easier. Equate stop smoking with that same process and you will be up for the mental challenge.

Identify what your triggers are:
Is it to get a break when things get stressful? Then find another way to take a few minutes of relaxation. Make a plan of what you will do when your hands seem to have a life of their own and want to reach for a cigarette. Is there a certain time of day you think you need a cigarette? Identify when this time are and arrange for ways to do something different.

Get rid of it all:
Don't keep the "in case" pack. Why give yourself that failure route? Clean up your house and car so you don't have to smell it. If feasible, have a professional cleaning service clean your house. They will get rid of the smell more completely than you can. You can also ask them to box up all smoker evidence like ashtrays and such. That way you can walk into a nonsmoker's house.

You are heading into new territory, so it makes sense to have a guide. Keep with your plan and you will become a nonsmoker.