Before you quit smoking, you have to be mentally ready. It is meaningless to start the smoking cessation, if you are not ready for it.

While you mentally prepare yourself, make sure to take appropriate action against the physical withdrawal symptoms that come because of the lack of nicotine.

Willpower alone will often not do it. You will probably need a little help too. You can find a lot of products that will remove the worst urge to smoke. Those products (like e.g. from Nicorette and Nicotinell) dampen the nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

Nicotine plaster and nicotine chewing gum are the two most popular nicotine products. Other options are nicotine inhaler, nicotine nasal spray and nicotine tablets.

When you smoke, it is probably often more a matter of habit than a desire. So do you really want that cigarette at the bus stop or after lunch? Or has it just become a really bad habit?

Take a critical look at all the situations, where you smoke. If you do so, you will be able to reduce your cigarette consumption radically. So if you smoke, it will be a deliberated choice.

Do you have any dreams that you cannot afford today? If it is within reasonable limits, you will probably be able to afford it if you quit smoking.

Reward yourself (or the family) with nice presents, when you haven't smoked for a week. And do the same again after a month and a year; then you will have the motivation to keep fighting, when it gets tough.

A good way to make the reward present is piggy bank. Every day without smoking you put the amount you normally would have used for cigarettes in the quit smoking piggy bank. Then you can see how much money you save. And after a few month there is probably enough for a nice vacation.

Another great preparation before you quit smoking might be to write down your thoughts about your future smoking cessation project. Write your reasons to quit smoking, what you think will be the hardest etc.

When the crisis comes (and it probably will sooner or later), you can read to what you've written to get a little encouragement and new motivation. You can also write a quit smoking diary, where you confidentially can write about your ups and downs.