The one thing necessary in order for a person to stop smoking is the genuine desire to do so. If this is in place, then you have all the power you really need in order to accomplish your goal.Read about all of the terrible consequences of continuing to smoke. Have the courage to face facts: look at photos of cancerous mouth, tongue, throat and lung conditions. Find out what the harmful chemicals in cigarettes can do to your body. Keeping these images in mind can greatly assist you in overcoming any cravings you may have.Sit down and make a list of all the great benefits of becoming a non-smoker. For example: How lovely to not smell like a filthy ashtray; to be released from smoker's cough; to be able to simply and fully taste food again; to feel healthy all over etc.Be aware of the triggers that automatically cause you to reach for a cigarette. For instance, is it when you become tired or bored with what you are doing? If so, maybe switching to another task, taking a break, a drink of water or walking into another room could help get you over that desire. Do you automatically feel like a cigarette when watching TV in the evening? If so take up a hobby that keeps your mind and both hands occupied such as model making, tapestry etc.Enlist the help of friends and family and get their support when doing this. Tell your friends and family that you are going to stop smoking. Ask them to help by not smoking near you. You may find that one or two would like to make this journey with you.While you are stopping smoking it is wise to stay away from places where you are likely to be tempted to light up. Most smokers are used to having a cigarette when drinking socially. If this is you, then in the beginning it may be wise to decline those social drinking invitations, stay away from bars and leave that bottle of wine in your cupboard for a while longer. If you do go out, then stay in a non smoking area.Pause for a moment and calculate how much you have been spending on cigarettes and how much you would save in a year by becoming a non-smoker. Imagine yourself faced with the task of setting fire to a pile of real money. Would you do this in reality? No? Then why do it by smoking cigarettes? Isn't it much better to pocket that money and spend it on something you really do appreciate?Some people find that using affirmations help, especially at the beginning. Little phrases such as: 'I respect my body and myself', or 'With each breath of fresh, clean air I am becoming more and more healthy' can help the subconscious get the message. Use what you find is helpful.Be kind to yourself. Should you slip and have a cigarette, then do not despair; there's really nothing to be gained by beating yourself up about it. Resolve to do better tomorrow.There is an arsenal of products now on the market which could help you stop smoking. These include nicotine impregnated chewing gum, skin patches, inhalators and tablets which your doctor can prescribe, but I, personally, am not a fan of any of these things.Though helpful for many, the problem with these aids is that they maintain a dependence on nicotine. Left to its own devices, nicotine will leave the body within 48 hours of stopping to smoke, anyway. Once this is achieved, the difficulties are primarily psychological, stemming from the subconscious.Unquestionably, the most effective aid to stop smoking is hypnotherapy, since hypnosis deals directly with the subconscious.With effective and correctly applied hypnotherapy, tens of thousands of people have been helped to permanently and painlessly end their cigarette addiction.In fact, the esteemed British magazine New Scientist (vol 136 issue 1845) reported the largest ever scientific comparison of ways of stopping smoking. Of all of the different methods analyzed the survey found hypnotherapy to be the most effective, being five times more effective than will power alone, and three times more effective than nicotine gum... According to New Scientist: "The great majority of techniques proved to be hopeless. Hypnosis, however, came out as the most effective anti-smoking technique"If you are serious about becoming a non-smoker then you really can do it. Know that you can stop smoking.The habit is not your master. You are master of you.