If you're a smoker, then you're probably panicking. Obviously you have come to this article because, on some level, you had a desire to stop smoking. But heck, as a former smoker myself, I know that you won't be entirely comfortable with the proposition of never lighting up again. An emotional bond has been formed. Smoking is more than a habit to you - it's like letting go of an old friend. So it's only natural that you want to find the best way to stop smoking and, preferably, the easiest.
You're going to be bombarded with a thousand ways to quit the habit. Your government's health department will probably tell you to hit the patches. TV adverts will be promoting the nicotine gum. You may even have flirted with the idea of taking on herbal cigarettes as a means of breaking your ties with nicotine.
As a former 40-a-day man, and someone with a rather intimate knowledge on the profound effect smoking has on our psyches, I'd have to tell you to steer clear of all these smoking aids. There is an incredibly simple reason for this: if you take to patches instead of cigarettes, all you are doing is transferring habits. The bottom line is that you will still be taking nicotine, and you will still be addicted to a habit.
If we remain addicted to a habit, then we are slaves for a lifetime. It is the equivalent of locking the habit up in a box, but having to carry that box around your neck for the next 20 years. If you want to successfully quit smoking, then you have to let go physically and emotionally. You have to wave it farewell. You have to be at peace with yourself. As hippy-like as that sounds, it's absolutely true.
To this extent, the best way to stop smoking permanently is to leave tobacco behind by your own choice. That means no patches, no gum, no herbal substitute. It doesn't mean willpower, either. Smoking is primarily a psychological addiction, which leaves you with two choices - either tolerate the psychological wall as best you can, or knock the sucker down. By choosing to quit cigarettes through sheer willpower, you are essentially fighting your own mind. If you choose to tackle the psychological links you have with smoking, then your mind will be at peace and, consequently, you will be able to live a non-smoking existence in perfect harmony.
This is not a difficult task. There are many forms of hypnotherapy available to help you break down your psychological bonds with tobacco, coming in the forms of vis-à-vis consultations, CD's and books. I managed to break a 10 year habit within four hours thanks to this method, and I didn't even have to leave my own house. After nearly a hundred failed attempts using patches, gum and willpower, I'd say that was a pretty good result. So take inspiration, and always remember that the best way to stop smoking is to simply let the love affair go.
