I remember my first cigarette. I was in the woods of the local golf course with three or four other 15-year-olds. The first drag made me feel sick and giddy. But, like an idiot, I stuck with it and pretty soon I was indeed stuck with it - a 25-a-day habit that would, over the following 23 years, cost me thousands of pounds, make me smell revolting, and give me a wheeze that sounded like the massed pipes of the Royal Navy.

The first time I tried to quit smoking was on National No-Smoking Day. By 11 o’clock I was a wreck. By ten past I was smoking. So I trotted out the usual smokers’ excuses: it’s the pressure of my work …I don’t really smoke that many… it’s just something to do with my hands… I couldn’t have a drink or a meal without a cigarette.

At first I was wary of any “cold turkey” how to quit smoking programs. I figured that it was just a mind game, a trick. But reluctantly I started to focus on the choice that comes with every cigarette, eliminating the automatic flipping open of my pack of Rothmans. Did I really want to go on smoking? Wouldn’t I prefer to give up coughing and wheezing? I started to deal with my habit one moment at a time. Logic entered into a subject that had always been dealt with on an emotive basis. I started to feel in control. The first few weeks were tough, but recognizing that feeling uncomfortable was a critical and positive part of the quitting process made all the difference.

I had previously tried to quit smoking for good by cutting down gradually over a period of time. I realise now that I was trying to get rid of the desire - and why I was so unsuccessful! I thought at first that any stopping smoking techniques would also help me get rid of the desire and that because I was still having these feelings I couldn’t be using the program properly.

I’m one of those people whose pain threshold is very low and I’ll do anything to avoid it and protest loudly if I can’t. Among other things, what any good quit smoking program requires is that you accept the pain! This idea had never occurred to me before. For me, it made all the difference when I acknowledged the desire instead of being frightened that I would immediately have a cigarette. In other words, I had a choice.

What helped the most was when I treated the desire - the voice nagging at me to have a cigarette - like a little child who needs attention. All the child needed was not to be ignored but to be given sympathy, love and attention.

Now. some three and a half years later, the choice of whether to smoke or not arises far less frequently, and has become much easier to deal with. I don’t feel smug - just pleased. I’m in control of my life and I’m not smoking - not at the moment.

Too many people are hell bent on knowing all the tips to quit smoking for good. While getting a good understanding for the number of tries that it will take is important, it shouldn’t be your main focus when you’re thinking of giving up smoking.

You might be confused as to what this information can actually do for you.  It actually serves the purpose of setting you up to be confident as you approach the date when you need to quit smoking.  If you have a grasp on the amount of time it could take you to quit, it will prevent you from feeling as a failure in the event that it takes you more than a single try.  This is very important, because most people start to feel as if they just cannot quit after failing a single time.

The majority of people in all honestness to themselves usually take at least two attempts to successfully quit smoking.  While most people would love to quit after a single attempt, it is usually necessary to have two attempts minimum.  You might wonder exactly why two attempts are necessary but the answer is really simple.  For the most part the first time people start trying to quit they have an attitude that tells them it is very simple.  This tends to find most consumers completely off guard, especially since it is not as easy to quit smoking as you might imagine.

Breaking the addiction to nicotine is not easy, nor is it something that can always be done in a single attempt.  If you are prone to trying to quit smoking entirely on your own with no help you will often find that your chances of success are much lower.  It is almost always necessary to obtain some form of help when you are trying to quit smoking in order to be successful.  This is the primary reason why it typically takes a minimum of two tries to quit smoking.  No matter how many attempts you may try, it is best to plan to quit for good anytime you attempt to quit.

Being aware of how difficult it really is to quit smoking is quite significant.  If you are aware of the challenges you will be in a much better position because you will have the ability to create a plan to help you quit.  Knowing the challenges that you face will also allow you to create a plan that is suitable based upon the precise reason that you smoke.  For example, if you tend to smoke due to stress you should be aware of what causes you stress out and look for ways to avoid the stress.

If you have a plan created to help you quit smoking before your first attempt even begins you may find that you are able to quit after a single attempt.  Not having a plan before you even attempt to quit will increase the chances that it takes several tries to be successful.  Creating a plan to help you stop smoking is not impossible, it merely means you need to be able to identify the problems that you could experience in your attempt to quit smoking.  This means if you simply sit down and create a plan to help you deter temptations and also avoid potential problems you will have a much better success rate.

Merely deciding to stop smoking at a whim will generally result in a series of problems.  It is very important to take your time creating your plan so that you can successfully quit.  Taking advantage of these small details in the plan that you create can go a very long way towards ensuring that you are ultimately successful.  Just be certain that all of the small details of your plan are well organized.  This means you really need to keep your confidence up, feeling as if you will not be successful can leave you creating a lot of problems.  Avoiding problems is very important to ensure that you are able to quit with as few attempts as possible.