Starting smoking is a big step in life, an even bigger step in life is giving up. Most of the time the stress and cravings get to you and giving up can really be made hell. Here’s a small guide to help you give up and make you realise how damaging smoking was to you.

Mentally preparing yourself is the first big step in achieving your goal, nicotine is a highly addictive drug, there’s no pleasure in smoking its all just an illusion, you will find this out when you have given up.

Think about the money that you can save while not smoking and say to yourself that with the money you have saved you will treat yourself. Even smoking five cigarette a day you can save hundreds of pounds a year by giving up, this is the one of the main factors people find that help them give up.

There’s also the health side to consider, smoking damages your lungs and can lead to cancer. Hoping that you won’t develope diseases is never going to help you in any way, sooner or later it will be the cause of your death.

Set a date for when you are going to give up or simply finish a packet and say that is your last ever, the first few days are said to be the hardest because the cravings are very demanding.

Be headstrong and find an alternative like chewing gum or sucking on sweets, this can really take your mind off it, using nicotine replacements like patches and nicotine gum can help relieve the strain of your cravings and it has been said you are twice as likely to give up with these aids.

Get your family and friends involved with you quitting smoking, they can support you and help you along the road to sucess especially get support from ex-smokers because they will know how hard it is.

Make sure you are confident that you will give up and that you are giving up for you and not because someone else is wanting you to. When you do fall off the tracks and have a cigarette make sure it was just a one off, maybe even start cutting down rather than not having any at all is a step to sucess. There are also weaker cigarettes you can buy which can be good to help you cut down, as smoking can be more of a habit than a need.

Hopefully this has given you a different way of thinking about smoking and has helped figure out how to give up. Stay strong, resist temptation and it will all be worth it at the end of the day.

Getting pprofessional help can always be a big help if your not as strong minded as some people, the NHS has a phoneline which you can call to get help… NHS Smoking Helpline ( 0800 169 0 169 ).