How to get started on quitting smoking - By: Darren Warmuth

If you're a smoker, there will come a point in your life, and it may even be now, that you will seriously be thinking of quitting. There are any number of reasons why this may be. Perhaps you don't cherish your lovely smoker's cough. Perhaps you are becoming more concerned about your health. It doesn't really matter. The fact is that we know what smoking does to us, how it is affecting our lives and that eventually, we need to stop. But actually moving forward with that plan is sometimes the hardest part.

With so many treatment options available, choosing the right one can seem like a daunting task. The easiest thing to do is to take a look at each option individually, make a list of the pros and cons, pertaining to each and try to determine which method will work best with your lifestyle. Once you have done your homework, it makes it easier to choose which method that that you feel will work for you.

This was very difficult for me to choose at the time of my quitting as I had no idea as to which method was right for me. So the obvious first stop was to my local health practitioner to see which method had the fewest side effects and yet had a high success rate.

We discussed many of the methods available and their side effects, but we also focused a lot of the conversation on the psychological part of quitting as well, since for most people, including myself, that would be the most difficult part of quitting smoking.

Preparing yourself mentally to quit smoking is not something that I even considered. I always assumed that to quit smoking, you did just that - quit! Maybe go on a wild emotionally charged fit for a week or so when nobody wants to be around you and that's it, you're done. I hadn't even thought about the fact that quitting would necessitate lifelong lifestyle changes.

After speaking with my doctor and choosing a treatment option, she told me to pick a day about two weeks out as my quit day, and use those two weeks to prepare for my new lifestyle. Finding out just how much my life centered around smoking, I'm glad that I had two weeks to prepare myself. Starting with my home I began clearing out the ashtrays, washing all the bedding and curtains, even steam cleaned my carpet to remove any smell, and began to smoke outside.

As I have told everybody looking for my advice on quitting smoking, it is one of the hardest things you will ever do in your life. But it is also one of the most rewarding. Start now. Get your game plan in place - and quit! Nothing will give you more satisfaction.

If you're a smoker, there will come a point in your life, and it may even be now, that you will seriously be thinking of quitting. There are any number of reasons why this may be. Perhaps you don't cherish your lovely smoker's cough. Perhaps you are becoming more concerned about your health. It doesn't really matter. The fact is that we know what smoking does to us, how it is affecting our lives and that eventually, we need to stop. But actually moving forward with that plan is sometimes the hardest part.

Trying to find a way to stop smoking? Then be sure to read Darren Warmuth's article on how to get started quitting smoking