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The only way you can stop smoking is by sheer-determination. Outside that, there are many options, but it has to be a thing YOU want to make work. Set yourself goals, and if you do not achieve them do not get discouraged. Most people I know who have quit did it after four to eight tries. I only know one person who quit the first time he tried, but I would not have called him a true addicted smoker. Personally, it took me 3 years of attempts to kill a 10-year habit.
The worst thing in trying to quit is being around other smokers, it is too easy to just grab one puff, or get a free smoke, just to carry you over, or as a reward for not smoking for a day. This just continues the problems. Wherever possible avoid other smokers, its not always possible, but try to find something else to do when around them.
The next best thing for me was sport, it gave me an opportunity to displace the cravings, as an outlet I could use it to put more power into my game. Sport itself was a reward.
Gum may work for some people, but I only ever had problems with it. The nicotine gums, at first tasted like crap, but then became an addiction in themselves, and just supported the cravings. Patches are useless.
Finally, rewards may seem somewhat lame but they worked for me. Set yourself short-term and long-term goals. Make rewards based on them. Smoking cost me $60 a week. If I lasted a whole week without a smoke I brought a block of chocolate (ate it on the night pretty piggy but good). My long-term goal, which was 6 months, was to buy a digital camera (worth $500, which is much less then the savings of not smoking). Now capturing a great photo for me is as rewarding as lighting up a smoke was in the past. It has been 18 months since my last smoke, and counting.
In brief, here is my method of quitting, which worked for me.
1. DETERMINATION, never give up, do not let failed attempts. Remember no one likes a quitter, unless that person is quitting smoking.
2. AVOID OTHER SMOKERS. Especially when they are smoking. This may not always be possible, but find ways to excuse your self. I.e. take a toilet break while a friend has a smoke.
3. AVOID THAT LAST SMOKE. Just one last one, is the thing that will keep you smoking. If you have gone a week without smoking, do not reward yourself with one last smokefor now as that does not work. These things are part of the never-ending quitting cycle.
4. DISPLACE SMOKING. Try playing sports, find a hobby or find something you can do, which may displace the cravings. In sport harness you're craving for extra power or determination to win.
5. REWARD YOURSELF. Quitting is hard. Very hard. Have both short-term and long-term goals. Reward achieving these goals in a way that acknowledges the size of the goal. Set a big goal. Based on the money you are not spending on smokes. Put aside this money that would have been spent on smokes to make sure its there when your ready for the reward.
6. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. No one will quit for you. This is your thing and if you do not believe you can do it, you will not. Know the goal, and strive for it. Hit the ground running, and you will get there
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