How To Stop Smoking- Understanding the Truth Behind the Myths

There are 55 million smokers in America, and chances are, every one of them has tried at some point to quit. Regardless of the reason that people start smoking, their reasons for being unable to quit are usually the same. Lack of willpower, don't want to gain weight, they will try again on Monday. Sometimes all three. Well, the fact is, you are stronger than you could ever imagine. By using one of the many smoking cessation programs that are available, and breaking down some of the myths that surround smoking, you can be looking at going smoke free soon.

I don't have the willpower to quit smoking forever.

That's okay. Fortunately you only have to have the willpower to quit today. Often times, when we think that we are setting goals, we are instead creating obstacles. Never imagine yourself struggling with this smoking addiction ten years down the road. Each day starts fresh. At the times that you most want a cigarette, put it off. Not forever, not even for the day. Just tell yourself that you can wait 15 minutes.

Brush your teeth, pop a mint, or pick up a book. Anything to distract your hands and mind. If after 15 minutes, you still feel tempted, know that you are strong enough to delay yourself again. The important point is to never look at smoking cessation as an all or nothing proposition. You will have good days and bad days, but stick with it. With perseverance, you will find that the good days begin to out number the bad days.

I don't want to gain weight.

Not many of us want to gain weight, so this is an understandable fear. Over the years, the weight gain- stop smoking connection has been greatly exaggerated. Not everyone that quits smoking will gain weight, and even the people that do average a gain of only ten pounds. If even ten pounds is enough to make you hesitate, you should realize that stopping the cigarette habit does not mysteriously cause weight gain. People that gain weight when they quit smoking do so for two reasons. They eat more and they are less active.

Regardless of what type of smoking cessation program you use, mindless eating is likely to sneak up on you. This probably has less to do with chemical withdrawal than it does the need to keep your hands busy. As far as the lack of activity goes, without having to make those trips outside the office building to smoke, you are probably a much more productive employee, which is good, but you probably spend a lot more time in your chair. Take a few breaks during the day, even a few brisk trips up and down the hall will help, but consider heading outside once or twice a day as well. There is no reason smokers should have all the fun, right?

I'll try again Monday.

Sure you will, we all will. In the mean time, you will probably smoke more than normal over the weekend, as you prepare to quit. The trouble is, unless you change your behavior, you are no more likely to make it through Monday as you are today. To quit smoking, you cannot think in terms of success and failure. If you slip, no need to wait for another day, week, or month. So, you messed up, big deal, stub out the cig and go on with your life.

How Hypnotherapy Can Help You To Stop Smoking

Anybody who has been addicted to nicotine understands how difficult it can be to stop smoking. It is true that nicotine is addictive. It is also true that after a couple of days the body no longer craves nicotine, yet most people start smoking again after a few days.

This is because their minds are addicted to it. They are psychologically addicted on a subconscious level.
What this means is if you want to stop smoking permanently you must free your mind of the need on a subconscious level. This is why so many people have found success using hypnosis!

Your hypnotherapist will guide you deep into a relaxed state of hypnosis where your subconscious will become highly suggestible. Using powerful suggestions your hypnotherapist will help you to release the need to smoke. You will be able to replace this old behavior with new behaviors of your choice, behaviors that support you in being the person you want to be.

Some smokers rely on smoking to ease emotional pain. A trained hypnotherapist can help the smoker release this emotional distress. Once this emotional pain has been released you will be ready to release the old destructive behavior for good.

Once your subconscious has accepted these new suggestions you will find it easy to stop smoking. Hypnotherapy is simply the easiest way to stop permanently.

You will actually be able to enjoy the process, knowing you are free from the psychological battle. Smoking does nothing for you its all an illusion of the mind.

With all the extra time and energy you can live a higher quality life style.
Many people all over the world are having success with this miracle method.

Stop Smoking Programs - Which is Best?

Stop smoking programs are a good alternative for the prospective quitter who does not want to "go it alone."

They offer structure and support, a "formula" of sorts with a series of steps for the hopeful non-smoker to follow. Many who attempt to stop smoking approach the task with the trepidation one might expect from getting thrown to the lions, and a stop smoking program with a clear beginning, end, and logical steps in between make the task appear easier and more likely to end with success.

Stop smoking programs are available in many guises.

Printed material like books and e-books abound all claiming to be the be-all, do-all, end-all solution for the quitter. There are acupuncture programs, hypnosis, shots and injections as well as a myriad of nicotine replacement therapy NRT) products. And don't forget the quit smoking pills, bupropion (Zyban, Wellbutrin) and Varenicline (Chantix). With all these options from which to choose how is the smoker to decide which program offers the best shot at success?

It helps to look at the success rates of each stop smoking program. Here are some statistics from a report by the US Surgeon General's Office:

Quitting programs combining counseling or support elements with a prescription for Bupropion SR (Zyban/Wellbutrin) found success rates were increased to 30.5%.

Quitting programs involving 91 to 300 minutes of contact time increased six month success rates to 28%.
Quitting programs involving 8 or more treatment sessions increased six month success rates to 24.7%.
7% of those who used over-the-counter nicotine patch and gum products quit for at least six months.

Here's an enigma of a program for you to consider.

It's a book by Allen Carr, "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking." Readers of my blog know that this is the stop smoking program that worked for me as well as for thousands of others.

Carr's premise is that once a smoker realizes that she really does not want or need to smoke, the process of quitting becomes a matter of simply extinguishing your last cigarette and donning the non-smoker hat. It sounds simple and actually is; as I said, it worked for me as well as Sir Richard Branson, Ellen DeGeneres,

Anthony Hopkins, and Britney Spears - sorry for the name-dropping. But what about the statistics?
Carr's organization claims a 90% success rate after 3 months and 50% after 12.

These are based on the number of people who attend their clinics and do not ask for the promised refund.

That's pretty wishy-washy statistic gathering if you ask me, but if the actual numbers are even one third those stated, Carr's method is considerably more effective than those being recommended by the American Medical Association, American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association.

Bottom line?

When looking for a stop smoking program to follow it pays to do your due diligence. Research, read, talk to friends and family who have quit, talk to your doctor-and talk to yourself. Ask yourself this question; do I really want to quit smoking? If the answer is "yes", your chance of success is astronomically higher than the person's who answers "no". And it doesn't matter nearly as much which program you choose.

Best Way to Stop Smoking As Soon As Today

The recent tax increase on cigarettes is very likely to prompt a lot of people to stop smoking. Cigarettes are over eight dollars a pack in some areas. If you smoke a pack a day, that would cost you $2920 per year. You could take a pretty nice vacation with that kind of money.
Aside from the cost, there are dozens of reasons to kick the habit. They age you prematurely, they stink, they kill you prematurely. The power of nicotine is amazing. All the negative points about smoking, and people have such a hard time kicking the habit.
 
There is one excellent way to kick the habit that works for nearly every person that tries it
 
Forget the patches! Forget the sprays! Forget the pills! Forget the nicotine gums! Forget the methods that fail more times than not!
 
There is a method that has proven to get 99.7 percent of smokers to quit for at least one month (over 5000 people tested). The fall out rate is very, very small. Of the original 5000, 97.2 percent of them have not smoked in over six months. That is a pretty astonishing success rate, right?
 
The method that has proven to work so well for so many people is called NLP or Neuro Linguistic Programming. It works so well, it has been dubbed the best way to stop smoking. NLP is a form of psychotherapy that can easily be applied to folks that are struggling to quit. This is one of those times where you actually want to be one of the statistics. In other words, it is time to be one of the 97.2 percent of people that easily make it six months without smoking. There is no better time than the present to get started, right?