QUIT SMOKING: NOT JUST A HABIT... AN ADDICTION by Ciaran J Newman FIITD

Quitting is often hard, but smokers are doing it, and are now quitting in record numbers. In fact, half of all living North Americans who ever smoked have now quit smoking.

If you have decided to quit smoking - whether for health, social or other reasons - the question often is: how?

Many people are able to quit on their own. But if you want help in quitting smoking, there are many options available, some of them free, some modestly priced and some quite expensive ways of quitting. They include self-help quitting materials, such as books or videotapes; nicotine patches or gum; group quitting programs, which may last anywhere from one night to many weeks or months; quitting by hypnotism, acupuncture or laser therapy; and even quitting smoking by aversion therapies, which make smoking extremely unpleasant.

No one can say which quit smoking method works best for each individual. Different people will respond to different quit smoking strategies. But deciding on a course of action - committing time and money and setting a date to quit smoking - is an excellent first step.

Quitting smoking takes effort, perseverance and, often, some kind of help. But it's worth the effort for a number of reasons.

Quitting smoking greatly reduces your risk of contracting lung cancer and many other cancers.
Quitting smoking makes a difference right away - you can taste and smell food better. Your breath smells better. Your cough goes away. This happens for men and women of all ages, even those who are older. It happens for healthy people as well as those who already have a disease or condition caused by smoking.

You started smoking cigarettes gradually one at a time - then "Mr. Nicotine" took hold and you were hooked. Nicotine is more addictive than crack cocaine - so what choice did you have!
Nicotine is delivered in a simple but deadly vehicle like cigarette smoke mixed with over 400 other chemicals the manufacturers add to the cigarette. By becoming addicted to this deadly brew of chemicals nicotine contributes to 400,000 deaths per year in the United States alone
But cigarette addiction is more than just nicotine addiction. It is also a very intense habit. A habit you have had for 10, 20, or 30 years puffing 200 times a day is very difficult to stop, even without any chemical dependence on nicotine.

Smoking is also associated with taking a break, eating and even sex. These factors can be as important as the nicotine addiction. So as a smoker you can take all the nicotine patches you want, but until you deal with this other addiction, you are not going to quit smoking.

Well, it was easy to start smoking cigarettes one at a time - so why not use that easy way - to quit smoking one at a time using the gradual reduction method of quitting smoking.

"But it isn't easy to kick the Nicotine smoking habit" you say. "I want to know how to quit smoking for good - I'm sick of smoking cigarettes" "I've tried to quit smoking cigarettes one by one before and I gradually go back to smoking 20, 30 or 40 cigarettes a day."

Well you had a little help when you started out smoking - our old friend nicotine. So now let's use a new friend on the market to show you how to quit smoking - NicoBloc. (More info at www.stopsmokingnow.co.uk )

"WHAT you say - I've never heard of NicoBloc before"

NicoBloc is a proven gradual reduction method of quitting smoking that teaches smokers how to quit smoking. It has been shown to help many thousands of smokers to quit the Smoking Habit for Good!

We all know it's all about QUITTING smoking cigarettes - but it's much easier to quit smoking completely when you only smoke a few cigarettes a day than to quit smoking from 20, 30 or 40 a day. Like the road safety ads show - stopping a car from 10mph is easier than stopping from 50 or 60 mph.

So with NicoBloc your goal is to first reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke - rather than quit cold turkey (even with the use of patches or gum).

Now that sounds an easier way to quit smoking - doesn't it?

There is less stress - less panic while quitting and once you know and believe it is going to be easier to quit smoking you will become a healthy non-smoker the easy way.

NicoBloc is simple to use and contains natural ingredients that can trap up to 99% of tar and nicotine in the cigarette while you smoke.

NicoBloc doesn't rely on traditional nicotine replacement methods and uniquely equips you for a successful attempt to quit by fully preparing you mentally and physically. The NicoBloc method enables you to reduce and eliminate your intake of nicotine over a gradual period without experiencing major withdrawal symptoms.

So why do smokers just like you find it so difficult to quit smoking?

Making the decision to quit smoking isn't easy and it is even harder to put it into practice. So, only smokers with great willpower manage to beat the Nicotine habit without any kind of help.
Statistics show that every year about 70% of the smokers want to quit smoking, but, sadly, less than 5% actually quit. In general, it takes 3 or 4 attempts to quit smoking permanently.

This is because cigarettes create both a physical dependence (on nicotine) and a behavioral (or habit-based) dependence.

Until now, the various methods to quit smoking only contributed towards overcoming the physical dependence by administering anti-depressive treatments, or by replacing the nicotine inputs by patches or chewing gum.

Even a major nicotine gum manufacturer is now recognizing this fact by telling smokers that if they want to quit smoking they should cut down on the number of cigarettes they smoke at the same time as using their product - they suggest that it can take anything up to 9 months to quit smoking completely!

Overcoming this behavioral dependence connected with the physical act of smoking is an important part of quitting the "Habit" that's why NicoBloc is so successful in helping smokers to quit smoking. Thousands of smokers have QUIT smoking within 6 weeks using this NicoBloc gradual reduction quit smoking plan.

We all know that the "habit" of smoking cigarettes is associated with a whole series of rituals that cannot be easily abandoned overnight, which makes getting help with the willpower to quit smoking cigarettes even more important.

More than 400,000 deaths in the U.S. each year are smoking related. Smoking cigarettes increases your risk of lung cancer. You know that smoking is bad for your health, yet at the same time you also know how hard it is to quit smoking. You have probably tried to quit smoking several times. Nobody has said that quitting is easy. Mr. Nicotine exerts a physical and mental hold on you that is a major barrier to quitting smoking.

So a small percentage of smokers have found it easy to quit smoking without some form of help. The cravings for a cigarette when you quit smoking cold turkey can be intolerable. The immediate withdrawal symptoms of quitting like irritability, anxiety, headache, depression, lack of concentration and restlessness can overcome your will power and next thing - you are back to being a smoker.

Some smokers have found nicotine replacement therapies like Nicorette, Nicoderm, Nicotrol or Nicquitin have been a help, but for many who have tried them and failed there has to be another approach to quitting smoking.

NicoBloc simply allows you to continue smoking while you are quitting but control the amount of nicotine you take into your system. This is why NicoBloc has worked for many other smokers like you.

You can quit smoking - millions of people around the world have successfully quit smoking. It doesn't matter how long you have smoked, you can quit!

You will be delighted with the quality of life you will have when you become an ex-smoker. First though, you must commit to want to become an ex-smoker. It is only a matter of time, wean yourself of cigarettes, slowly, remember the tortoise and the hare. You can do it!

So start today - tell yourself you are going to quit today, once you have made that decision you will want to know more about how to quit smoking with NicoBloc.

Well, what are you waiting for?

Now you have some more questions about how to quit smoking - that need some answers! So visit the gradual reduction website at www.stopsmokingnow.co.uk
Well, all of your questions will be answered and you may find yourself on the road to becoming a more healthy Non-Smoker today.

About the Author
Ciaran J Newman is a past Chairperson and Fellow of the Irish Institute of Training & Development. He has lectured extensively on the subject of Goal Setting and Behaviour Modification. Contact details: info@arkomax.com Website: www.arkomax.com