The man’s man. His cool demeanor, hat tilted just so, photographed with nothing but a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. The Marlboro man. Men wanted to be him and women wanted to be with him. He made smoking look cool, sexy and fun, but as the world knows today, it is anything but…

Not only are cigarettes are the number one killer in America they dramatically increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, impotence, infertility, premature birth, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, and almost every other health concern, small or large? How could any habit be worth this?

Its not, but people continue to smoke because the nicotine in cigarettes is highly addictive and smoking provides psychological comfort to some people and perhaps most of all, quitting is so hard.

Experts say that quitting smoking is harder than giving up most addictions including alcohol. This is understandable given the sometimes harsh withdrawal symptoms. For you to be able to stop you must be FULLY committed. Alas, even that, sometimes is not enough. You must have incredible will power, determination and maybe assistance from external sources to be able to kick the habit once and for all.

There are several ways to stop smoking. Research them and find out what will work for YOU as they work differently on different people. Some of these methods include:

1. Medication – There are many prescription medications that are used to counteract any withdrawal symptoms one might experience and to suppress the nicotine craving.

2. Hypnotherapy - This is a safe and proven method to reduce the nicotine Craving. It is more effective than other methods like patch or nicotine gum.

3. Alternative therapy – These include aromatherapy, acupuncture and meditation.

4. Counseling - You need to boost will power many a times. You definitely need counseling under such conditions. Counseling is extremely important for behavioral support. It is important that you have one to one counseling sessions.

5. Smoking Aids and stretchers – these include gum, patches and nasal sprays. These are not as effective as other methods as they still feed your nicotine cravings by releasing small amounts of nicotine into the bloodstream.

6. Will power - Will power is nothing but a state of mind. It is in fact very difficult to implement this state of mind. People of low will power find it difficult to quit smoking. Other, with strong will power can simply give it up in one go, cold turkey.

7. Don’t Give Up – If you fall off the wagon, DO NOT GIVE UP. It is important you try again immediately. Do not give your body time to become re-addicted. Just continue with your original plan.

Whatever method you choose, remember that it is up to you and only you to actually give up smoking. Good luck!