The mark of a successful ex-smoker is no smoking at all for about a year.
This is not a completely and utterly reliable assessment, but anything less can certainly not be considered successful.
Most of those who quit successfully have already made three or four previous attempts, at the least.
The smoking addiction develops over a long period of time, grabbing hold not only physically, but mentally.
It is supposed to relieve stress, but in truth only causes them, and creates a dependency.
This makes it very difficult to give it up, and to stop smoking cold turkey can make the situation worse.
Anyone trying to quit should look for support, both professional and from friends and family.
There are a great many professional programs and groups for those who truly want to give up the habit.
Every smoker has a different personality and a different reason for smoking, so there are many ways to quit, depending upon the person involved.
Most programs have a few things in common, like exploring the reasons for smoking and the risks of continuing the habit.
There should also be some methods of dealing with the aspects of physical dependency.
The method that worked so well for someone else may not work at all for another person.
Each person trying to quit has to find what works best on a personal basis.
What every smoker who wants to quit needs to have, however, is the will necessary to quit.
The cold turkey strategy more often than not turns on the one trying to quit, causing stress which only increases the craving for a cigarette.
A sudden drop of the nicotine intake can really take a physical toll, which can in turn reinforce the desire to smoke.
Many studies indicate that cold turkey is the least likely to succeed of all the methods used to quit smoking.
There are some, however, who have quit cold turkey and continue to be non-smokers to this day.
Here are some of the tactics and philosophies they employed: There must be a good clear reason to quit.
Anyone who wishes to quit should do so because it is their personal desire to quit, not because of pressure from family or friends.
The smoker should understand that the difficult of quitting will be well worth the trouble.
Be ready for any withdrawal symptoms, especially heavy smokers.
Learn ways to deal with the symptoms effectively.
Willpower and motivation are key.
Anyone who has attempted to quit before and failed should consider another method.
Try to substitute something else for smoking, preferably some sort of productive activity.
This is very important since smoking addictions are both mental and physical and something needs to fill those needs.
Smokers who stop cold turkey should avoid nicotine patches and other such substitutes for smoking.