Talk To Your Doctor

A new year can bring new motivation, but motivation isn’t what will help you quit smoking. You can’t just wake up one morning and expect things to be perfectly smooth from there on, it takes time, it takes effort and it takes some work, but when people engage in groups and take the right treatment, most are able to succeed.

Half of the smokers will try to quit at the start of January each year, but the majority of those who try to use self-control and go cold turkey will not succeed. However, fewer than 10 percent of those who quit cold turkey stop smoking for a year or longer. It's tough because smoker are going to go through nicotine withdrawal; smoker will get depressed, will get the shakes and will get irritable. This could go on for weeks.

Smokers sometimes try other methods to quit, including laser treatments, hypnosis and acupuncture. Few, if any, studies exist on their effectiveness. They all work in the area of suggestion, which can help some people, but another thing that works well is simply talking with your doctor for 15 minutes about why you should stop smoking.