The most important part of the preparation for you quit your cigarettes is to be mentally ready. It is pointless to think that you should stop smoking if you’re not ready for it.

One thing is the mentally part; another is the nicotine withdrawal symptoms. So it might be a good idea to prepare yourself for this part as well.

If you really have the willpower, it is possible to stop smoking without any help; but if you are like most people, you will probably need some help. Today there are a number of nicotine products (e.g. from Nicorette and Nicotinell), which can remove the worst urge to smoke.

Nicotine plaster and nicotine chewing gum are the two most popular nicotine products. Other options are nicotine inhaler, nicotine nasal spray and nicotine tablets.

When you smoke, it is probably often more a matter of habit than a desire. So do you really want that cigarette at the bus stop or after lunch? Or has it just become a really bad habit?

Look critically at your smoking situations. Then you will be able to reduce your cigarette consumption significantly. This way you can take deliberated choice, when you decide to light a cigarette.

Do you dream about something, you cannot afford today? It might be possible in the future, if you do not have to spend a lot of money on cigarettes.

Give yourself (or maybe your family) a reward, when haven’t smoked for a week, a month, a year etc. Thereby you have a great motivation to continue to fight, when everything seems a little hopeless.

A good way to make the reward present is piggy bank. Every day without smoking you put the amount you normally would have used for cigarettes in the quit smoking piggy bank. Then you can see how much money you save. And after a few month there is probably enough for a nice vacation.

It might also be a good idea to write down your thoughts down, before you quit smoking. Write about why you have decided to stop, what you think might be the hardest part etc.

When the crisis comes (and it probably will sooner or later), you can read to what you’ve written to get a little encouragement and new motivation. You can also write a quit smoking diary, where you confidentially can write about your ups and downs.

Martin Elmer is writing about quitting your cigarettes on the website rygestop. You can also learn how to minimize your nicotine withdrawal symptoms in the section Nicotinell pris.