Quitting Smoking - Ways to Stop

There are numerous ways that people use to stop smoking. People do actually succeed in stopping smoking but the same method of stopping does not work for everyone and sometimes the same method may finally work only after a second or third attempt at it is tried.

The most popular methods used to quit smoking and not in any particular order are: -

1) Willpower
2) Cutting down
3) Hypnosis
4) Patches, Gum, Lozenges
5) False Cigarette
6) Zyban
7) Acupuncture
8) Shock event

There is no doubt that each of these methods have been successful in helping someone to stop smoking. They work in slightly different ways to each other and I will attempt to describe each method and in my opinion the pros and cons of each


1) Willpower
This is probably the most used method for stopping smoking and one that does work. Actually a certain amount of willpower will be required no matter what method of quitting smoking you use. Unfortunately willpower kind of suggests a fight and suggests that if you are strong minded you will succeed and that if you fail you are weak minded. The description willpower is not helpful as far as stopping smoking is concerned because of the perceived battle that the word suggests. A better word would be 'decision'. Just make your decision and then that can be that. But make it a final decision and not some half-hearted attempt and then you can quit successfully.

2) Cutting down
This involves willpower with the idea of feedback that you are succeeding plus knowing that you are gradually weaning yourself off any perceived chemical dependency of cigarettes. In theory it sounds great because if each day you smoke one less cigarette you know you are getting closer to stopping. Unfortunately in order to know how many cigarettes you are smoking you have to count them and then know at any particular moment of the day how many you have had and how many more you can have. This method means that you have to think about smoking much more than if you were smoking freely. If something is on your mind more often, then it can make it harder to stop it. If you really want to succeed with using the cutting down method, don't get into counting each cigarette.

A better tactic is to decide to leave out certain cigarettes such as the one at 10:30 or the one after lunch. This way you don’t have to count how many you are smoking and yet you know you are cutting down.

3) Hypnosis
This method still requires 'willpower' or even better the 'decision' from the smoker that they want to stop. Hypnosis does not take away the choice of the person to smoke but rather it supports the decision to stop. It is like getting some extra help to support your decision to stop. Importantly it uses suggestions that are aimed at the stronger part of the mind, the subconscious mind, to let get of this old outdate and no longer useful response to life.

4) Patches, Gum and Lozenges
These methods still give you nicotine. The idea is that it helps with any withdrawal symptoms you may ordinarily put down to stopping smoking. It is an odd sort of logic in that patches, gum and lozenges still give you nicotine as a way of helping you to stop taking nicotine via cigarettes. Also as long as you chew gum, suck lozenges or have to wear a patch it constantly reminds you of smoking. A constant reminder is not a useful method to use to help stop doing something.

5) False Cigarette
This is a substitute for the action and behaviour of smoking but without the intake of all the chemicals involved. It helps those who would ordinarily miss doing something with the hands, or those who would feel less confident with having nothing in their hands. The down side is that although you are no longer inhaling all those poisons you are still keeping the habit and behaviour of smoking going.

6) Zyban
This is a prescribed drug that was found to help smokers deal with any perceived chemical withdrawal symptoms. The idea is that if the physical side of smoking is being aided by zyban than all you have to do is to deal with the action or routine of smoking. As soon as you have stopped the routine and discovered you are okay and life can carry on then you can, under your doctor's direction, come off zyban. Once again a method that may work for some but there may be side effects of using zyban which need consideration before using this method.

7) Acupuncture
This is the ancient Chinese treatment that inserts needles in certain acupuncture points on the body. The acupuncture points are not random but are definite and accurate places on the body. The idea with acupuncture is to enable the free flow of energy known as chi (pronounced 'chee') to flow along the meridian lines in the body. Blocks in the energy flow can cause or relate to issues whether physical, mental or emotional. For some people, acupuncture treatment has succeeded in helping them to stop smoking.

8) Shock event
For many people a shock of some sort will cause them to finally quit smoking. The shock may be the discovery of some smoking related illness such as cancer or it may be the loss of a friend or relative. Either way it brings home to the smoker their own mortality and what part they play in staying well and healthy. No one really chooses to be unhealthy. The shock event can work for many people and help them to stop smoking. Where the shock event fails is when, over time, the shock fades and feels more distant and the ex-smoker once again feels comfortable with smoking.

The overriding asset and best resource in using any of the above methods is the decision to stop smoking. So just make your decision to stop smoking and then stick to it.