How do I stop smoking?

As a hypnotherapist I have had plenty of people and friends asking me, how do I stop smoking?

And although at first it sounds like a simple question, the answer simply isn't! I mean there are several methods available to you. I know which one is best - hypnotherapy and a planned strategy to tackle every issue involved when you stop smoking.

But to answering your question: How do I stop smoking?, I think it is very important that you consider your mental approach, as well as the method you choose to use.

Your attitude and the way you look at what you are doing - stopping smoking, will play a large part in your success or failure!

So, firstly you need to think, say and believe that you are stopping smoking. And at all costs you should avoid thinking and saying 'I'm quitting / giving up smoking'.

This helps you have a positive attitude and general feeling about the issue. The point being that you will not feel as if you are 'giving up' your pleasure!

The next thing you should do is approach stopping smoking, the same way you approach a break up with a partner!

And what do I mean by this? Well, when you break up with a partner you know several things. That once the two of you were good together, there were some good times and you enjoyed each other. However, now things have changed.

You are no longer good together and as much as you may have been together in the past, you are no longer part of the same future and now it is time to part.

This is precisely what I tell people when they aske me, how do I stop smoking?!

It's not just about the method you use, but it is also very important to choose the right mental approach, mindset and outlook.

Combining the right mental approach and planning each phase of stopping smoking, from preventing weight gain, withdrawal symptoms to ensuring you don't relapse is my answer to he question: How do i stop smoking?

How long does it take to quit smoking?

Have you ever thought about how long it does or should take you to stop smoking completely?

Surprisingly I've found that most of my clients and smokers in general do not know or have an idea as to how long it will take. But the thing that I find most worrying is that a majority of smokers expect to stop smoking instantly!

I suppose that can be expected in today's society where we have fast food, fast internet connections and fast cars! We naturally expect things to get done quickly or instantly, and we as a whole are very impatient.

But I try to help smokers understand that stopping smoking is not one of those things that is going to happen quickly, in a couple of hours or over night. Just think about how long you've been smoking. It's probably been years!

So to expect to completely remove something from your life that is a major part of everything you do is pretty unreasonable! Just think about the cigarettes you've had today. If you decide to stop right now, what will hapen tomorrow?

You're still going to want a cigarette first thin when you wake up, on your way to work, with your coffee, in the car, during your break, after your meals etc.

So if you think you can stop smoking and be done with it in an hour or with a 'magic pill' for lack of a better phrase, then you are in for one major surprise!

You see, smoking plays a major part in your everyday life, a lot of your routines revolve around, being with or end with a cigarette. And this has nothing to do with nicotine addiction. And I've got to admit that it is a major struggle to get smokers to see this!

Most smokers want to stop smoking immediately, but they don't think about every other part of smoking aside from addiction. It is not just addiction that makes you smoke. That is the main reason why nicotine patches, gums, lozenges and the latest pharmaceutical pills dont' work. They cannot help you with your other reasons for smoking.

And what are your other reasons for smoking?

Well let's see, your psychological reliance to deal with stess and problems by smoking, curing boredom, as a way to relax, cigarettes are a part of your wake up / bed time routine, you smoke when you drink alcohol and for social reasons, you smoke when you need to concentrate and cigarettes are your friend!

Patches and pills cannot help you with thes problems and issues! They only have a 16% success rate!

Anyway back to how long it should take you to stop smoking. People who use will power alone usually need seven attempts on average! That's years of failure and stress.

A nicotine replacement therapy course (patches, gums etc.) takes anywhere from two months to a year.

Cognitive behavioural therapies and other such methods can take up to three months.

Hypnotherapy is one of the best methods around with an average 33% success rate - more thn twice anything else, and it usually takes two to three sessions lasting a few hours each.

So there are different timescales for different methods.

The method I use with my clients takes 3 - 4 weeks. And it is the most thorough method I know of, (sorry if I sound like I'm blowing my own trumpet!)

I personally believe that you absolutely must plan and prepare on how to stop smoking and then stay stopped, an idea not many smokers or experts are open to or are a ware of.

That's why I think three weeks is the righ time scale. Like any idea, you need to plan beforehand. You need to see the plan through the any possible problem times and you need to make sure it works by keeping at it - especiallly after the big day.


So to answer your question: How long does it take to stop smoking? I think to successfully stop, deal with all aspects of smoking and then ensure that relapse is totally prevented, you are loking at three weeks.

One and half to two weeks preparation, one day to stop smoking and another week and a half to ensure that you do not ever relapse.

How many cigarettes do you smoke a day?

I often wonder why how some smokers can go through 10 - 20 cigarettes a day, perfeclty fine, while others go through 30 or 40, and sometimes even 80! How much is that costing!

My point is not the cost, it's more of a quesiton actually - why do you smoke the amount of cigarettes you do? It's a simple question, but one that perhaps you haven't thought about before.

Think about it for a minute: How many cigarettes do you actually need each day?

If you go through your day, you will find that you probably only need about a third or a quarter of the cigarettes you smoke each day. So why more?

Stress may be your first answer. And yes it's true, but if that were the case you would smoke less at the weekend, when you're off work and when you are on vacation or holiday woulnd't you...........................?

The answer is actually habit and routine. Run through your day, from the minute you wake up to the minute you go to sleep. Write down each cigarette you smoke. Most of them begin with, revolve around or finish with a routine of yours.

Walking to work, drinking coffee, watching TV, chatting with friends, taking a break etc. These activities do not require a cigarette. Yet you always have one, because you always have!

These are the real problem situations you will face when you stop smoking. It is actually much easier to forget and stop the cigarettes you need, than the ones you have because you always have.

The reason is that, the are habits - smoking habits you have created. And breaking your habit is the most difficult part of stopping smoking, not beating your addiction to nicotine.

So when you stop smoking you have to plan on ways to beat, prevent and break your habits so that at no point in the future does your walk to work remind you of smoking!

With the right planning you can do it!