If you're looking for strategies to quit smoking then you're definitely in the right place.
I used to be a smoker myself over 8 years ago so I hope you can understand that I know what I'm talking about.
Let's take a closer look.
So what do we mean when we talk about strategies? Really, we're talking about the many different approaches that you can take to quitting smoking.
And if one doesn't work, regroup and choose the next best one.
Let's take a look in order of some different strategies going from worst to best.
Going Cold Turkey Alone This is the first and cheapest strategy that many people go for.
They set a quit date and then suddenly stop smoking.
You'll also find that it is the method that is most prone to failure.
Usually this failure is quick and within a few hours or days.
But this method also has the worst failure rate if you look at the 5 year horizon too.
Clearly, you need a better strategy than this.
Cutting Down By cutting down on cigarettes, the shock of finally quitting should be much less right? It is indeed, but only fractionally less so.
The stark truth is that this method still involves using a lot of willpower and resisting cravings.
So how can we stop that? Patches This is not a good strategy.
Whilst you can come off the cigarettes immediately, you are forced to try and cut down on the patches instead and we already know how unreliable that is.
Forget it.
We still need to cut down on the cravings and the willpower.
Pills, Hypnosis & The Laser These methods are different.
They are all intended so that you can lower your cravings and therefore you don't need to use willpower.
The immediate quit success rates are very high - around 90%.
But remember the problem of the smoker who quits and actually resists the cravings? They are still susceptible to starting again a few months or years down the road.
And that's the problem with these particular methods.
They cut the cravings temporarily but they don't cure you of your addiction.
You are still an addict and will be for the rest of your life.
CBT/Coaching In my opinion, this is the only method that really works.
I know, because I used this myself over 8 years ago.
CBT is a way of re-educating you about your addiction so you don't "suffer" when you make the big change.
Let me give you an example: CBT is used to cure people of phobias like a fear of flying.
Eventually, they can board an airplane again without sweating a single bead of sweat.
The same is true of cigarette addiction.
With CBT, you can be cured so that when you quit, you will not have any cravings or need any willpower.
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