I have written this article on my own personal experience battling with trying to quit smoking for over 1 year. I'm proud to say that I have been clean of of the horrid drug that is niccotine for over 6 months and I thought I would share my tips and advice on how you can do the same. Below I have listed my top 5 tips for those looking to quit smoking and live a healthy and smoke free life.

Quit smoking because you want to quit! You should want to quit if you knew how bad it is for you. Have you ever noticed it's easier to say " This will be my last smoke" when you have one already in your hand?? Of course you would say that, you have gave your body what it wants..nicotine.

1) Get a piece of paper and write down how you picture yourself when not smoking, for example: better looking skin, healthier body, more energetic etc. Once you have done this write another column with all the negatives points you feel as a smoker eg; bad breathe, lethargic, yellow teeth etc. Once you have done this you can always look back at this piece of paper and remind your self what your goals are and what you hate about smoking. Visualization is a big help when it comes to reaching goals such as quitting smoking.

2) Visit your doctor for some support. Your doctor can provide you with products to support and help you quit smoking for good. These include Nicorette patches, gum, inhalators etc. They are all very useful, but a degree of willpower is needed for you to benefit from these products. Thats where your notes that you wrote earlier come into play!

3) Sometimes it helps to go through this jourmney by relating to others who are in the same position as you. Join focus groups for smokers, not only will you be mingling with people that have the same goal it makes it easier knowing you are not the only one.

4) Everytime you feel like reaching for that smoke reach for a glass of water. Food is a good replacement but not the perfect answer as smokers know the craving is usually more after eating and also you dont want to get overweight in the process otherwise you will have another problem to deal with.

5) Get a bottle and fill it with dog ends, mix this with water and seal the bottle for a day or so. Everytime you feel like a smoke, open that bottle and inhale. You will soon forget about that smoke I guarantee it.

The tips listed above are exactly the methods i used to quit smoking for good. I know how hard it can be, it took me over a year! but if you stick at it and take small steps at a time you will finally get to that stage where you won't care about that smoke ever again.

Good luck.