Ask any ex-smoker and they will tell you a different story.  Some people have quit "cold turkey", just giving it up one day and never going back.  These are rare stories, but they are true.  It does happen - you can just decide to quit, get through a few days of withdrawal symptoms, and never go back to smoking cigarettes again.  You are rare if you can do that, but it is in fact the most successful of all the stop smoking methods.

But, if you aren't that brave, or don't feel that you have that much will power, then you might want to try a different quit smoking product to help you through the first few weeks.  There are many available products from which to choose and you may end up trying several different types before you finally find one that allows you to quit for good.

1.  The most advertised quit smoking product is the nicotine patch.  The patch works by sending nicotine through your skin and into your bloodstream, as a means to replacing the nicotine that you would have had in your daily allotment of cigarettes.  Gradually, over the period of a few weeks, you reduce the potency of the patches until you are barely getting any nicotine at all.

2.  Nicotine gum is a similar quit smoking product that works in the same way.  There are also lozenges that you can suck on, that give you nicotine orally.  The success rate of these products is about the same as that of the patch - approximately 25%.

3.  There are several means of alternative medicine, such as acupuncture that is used to deal with the psychological and physical cravings of smoking.  For many years, acupuncturists have been using a small needle in the ear lobe to help people get over smoking.

It may sound crazy, but if you have a strong enough desire to quit smoking, you can do it on your own.  Of course you need support in the form of friends and family who can help you and make sure you don't get off track.  But, by going about it yourself, getting through the very short withdrawal period, and finding alternative good habits to replace your bad one, you may find that cold turkey is the best smoking product around with a success rate higher than other products.