Quitting smoking is one of the best decisions someone can make. The instant benefits for the smoker’s health are incredible, and after ten years of non-smoking, the body can perfectly go back to the state it was before.

It is, however, somehow difficult to accomplish. Not everybody manages to stop smoking, and they have to try several times and several strategies to quit smoking for good. The good thing is that nowadays there are multiple ways and paths to end the smoking habit successfully. If you try one of these methods and it does not work, you can try another one in a very short time.

Use your Willpower

This is another word for mental strength, and one of the main elements in your journey towards tobacco-free life. You have to convince yourself of quitting and talk yourself out of the habit. These strategies are free and can be used when the craving starts to hit your brain in the middle of the afternoon or at your usual smoke break.

Telling yourself what a good job you are doing is one of the things you can do to maintain your willpower. You have to say it, congratulate yourself for not smoking, and you will feel better about your choices.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy

The nicotine in the cigarettes is one of the elements that cause addiction, but unlike the toxic residues (tar) nicotine is not directly linked to cancer. Because of this many smokers prefer to use nicotine replacement therapies so that their cravings are lessened by the effects of the nicotine. Using patches or e-cigarettes are the most common ways of having a healthier nicotine intake. Many smokers turn to vaping because when they use the best e-liquid in their vaporizers, they can have a cigarette-like experience without having to face the negative effects of tobacco combustion in their respiratory system.

Using Nicotine Replacement Therapy increases the chances of quitting smoking up to 70% compared to those who try to quit smoking without any help.

Professional advice

Using the help of a professional advisor or counselor can increase the chances of quitting up to 80% according to the type of support the smoker is receiving. From phone calls to support groups, all of these options are available and are effective to stop smoking.

The support option you choose will depend on how much time and money are you willing and able to allocate for the therapy. If the support therapy is combined with nicotine replacement therapy, the chances of quitting can be of 100%.

Go “Cold Turkey”

This term refers to quit smoking abruptly, without any kind of professional help or nicotine sources. These people have a very strong willpower, and they use it effectively to control craving and avoid relapses. Some ex-smokers say it is the best option and it works for heavy smokers as well. In many occasions, this is due to some fundamental change in their life and a sudden motivational moment that led them to make that decision.

There are some strategies people use when they decide to go Cold Turkey:

• Avoid the usual smoking environment
• Not buying new cigarettes
• Quitting spontaneously, no planning involved
• Changing smoking routines for other activities

Once a smoker has decided to quit, a series of steps have to be taken to conquer this toxic habit finally. Some people decide to go little by little and reduce the number of cigarettes they smoked a day, and later they change to patches or e-cigarettes. Wherever method you choose the important thing is to persevere until you reach a smoke-free life.