There are obstacles along the way, and you will undoubtedly face a few of them yourself. It’s how you deal with them that will determine how successful you are in your quest to stop smoking for good.

Here are three of the most common obstacles that you may face along the way.

One of the biggest obstacles you will face is the fact that no matter where you go, you will be confronted with the temptation to have a smoke. It’s not nearly as bad now as it was before all the smoking bans in workplaces and public places were put into place. But people can still smoke on the street, and until you get through the initial phase and realize that you are indeed a non-smoker, it will be a challenge to be around people who smoke especially when they are in places where you can’t easily get away from them.

A second obstacle you may find yourself dealing with is the fascination that well-meaning friends and family members will have with your decision. You will no doubt be bombarded with questions and comments, especially from the people in your circles who haven’t yet decided to give up smoking. The most common questions you will get center on why you want to quit.

The best way to deal with having to answer this question over and over again is to be know, for yourself, exactly why you are determined to succeed. Having to explain why you want to quit smoking over and over again may cause you to second-guess yourself.

Don’t give in to the temptation to change your mind. If you are strong in your why and completely committed to quitting you will find it much easier to grin (or grit your teeth if you have to) and answer the question one more time.

Another obstacle you may be dealing with could be all the ways to quit smoking that are available today. This may seem a little counter-intuitive, but the truth is that there are so many products out there now that deciding on a course of action can be more than a little overwhelming.

When it comes to dealing with any obstacles on your road to becoming a non-smoker you will find that it’s helpful to have a good handle on two main things: why you smoke, and why you want to quit.

Knowing why you smoke in the first place will help you develop an action plan that addresses your specific needs. For example, one of the main reasons I smoked was to have something to do with my hands. For me it was easy to get over the nicotine addiction but it was really hard to deal with not having a cigarette in my hand all the time. Once I found a way to deal with that giving up smoking for good became much easier.

Knowing why you want to quit and staying focused on that will make it easier to face temptation and deal with these roadblocks and any others you may com across along the way.

1. Make sure you get enough sleep. Taking care of your body is an important part of quitting smoking. As the quit smoking timeline shows, your body will be undergoing major changes during your quit process, so it’s important to not only get enough sleep, but also to eat properly and get enough exercise as well. In fact, substituting exercise for smoking is one of the best things you can do for yourself!

2. Do things that will distract your from your need to smoke. It’s much easier to quit if you are not thinking about how much you want a cigarette. Activities such as reading, surfing the internet, or doing some exercise will take your mind off of smoking. And if you do find yourself wanting a smoke, reach for a drink of water instead. Not only will it refresh you, it will flush the toxins from the cigarette smoke out of your system and extend the time between smokes even more.

3. Make it your goal to stop smoking for good. You might be surprised to know that many people who quit smoking go into the process only planning to quit for a few days or a few weeks. If you are thinking of quitting short term, you will not only have a harder time, you will not reap the benefits of quitting smoking that you would if you were quitting for the long term. When you plan to quit for good, you are much more likely to succeed because you have found a compelling reason to quit and are willing to see it through to the end.

1. Reduce the stress in your life. Many people smoke to relieve their stress, but in reality smoking only causes more stress. It’s better to reduce your stress by dealing with the stressful situations in your life, or at least finding better ways of dealing with it such as meditation or exercise. You will find that your attempt at giving up smoking will go much more smoothly if there is less stress in other areas of your life.

2. Have a support system in place. Make sure that you enlist the support of friends and family in your efforts to quit. You will need their support, especially if they are smokers too. Ask them not to smoke around you, and to respect your decision to quit. If you need to join a support group for positive reinforcement, do so. Many communities have support programs that you can join for free, or a very low cost. No matter what, don’t try to go it alone. It’s much easier when you have support.

3. Get a buddy to quit with you. This goes along with the tip above. It’s so much easier to quit if you have someone else to be accountable to. Just like in business with an accountability partner, a quit smoking buddy will hold you to your goals, and be there to help you through the tough times.

The benefits of quitting smoking will become more obvious as you progress through the quit process. But, it’s not an easy thing to do and trying to do it on your own, no matter how badly you may want to, will only make it harder. You will find it much less stressful if you have a support system that includes friends, family, and an accountability buddy to help you along the way.

There are, however, some tips that will make the process much smoother for you, no matter what method of quitting you ultimately decide to use.

Here are three tips that will help you in your quest to quit smoking for good.

1. Know why you want to quit. It’s not enough just to decide you’re going to quit. You need to find that one compelling reason that keeps you going when you want to give in and light up.

2. Develop a strategy for quitting. Write down your goal, the methods you will use, and a timetable for achieving it. Make sure you build in some flexibility so that if your initial quit method doesn’t work, you have the freedom to try something different.

3. Use the carrot and stick method. Reward yourself on the days that you do well (but not with food). Set out some small “punishment” on the days when you give in to the urge to smoke. It doesn’t have to be major, and don’t beat yourself up about slipping, just enough that your mind recognizes that there will be consequences when you don’t meet your goal.

These are just a few of the tips that I used in my quest to quit smoking. It’s not easy, but having a good reason to quit, a solid plan and a reward system in place you are taking steps to ensure your success.

Stay tuned for more tips in future posts!

Here are a few of the things you can expect as you go through the process of giving up smoking for good.

After 20 Minutes:

After the first 20 minutes without a cigarette, your blood pressure and pulse should start to normalize.

After 8 to 10 Hours:

The oxygen levels in your blood should also return to normal.

After 12 hours:

About 12 hours after your last cigarette, the amount of carbon monoxide in your blood stream is reduced by about half. You should start to feel more clear headed and be able to breath a little easier.

After 24 Hours:

Congratulations! You’ve survived your first full day as a non-smoker!

By now you should be noticing that you have a bit more energy, and that you can breathe a little more easily than yesterday. Your lungs will also start to empty themselves of all the mucus and other smoking debris that has been left behind.

Getting through the first 24 hours is a big step! You should pat yourself on the back because this is a great accomplishment.

After 48 Hours:

More congratulations are in order. You’re doing great!

At this point in your quit smoking timeline, most of the nicotine should be gone from your body. You are well on your way to beating this smoking habit for good!

Let’s jump ahead a bit now…

Between 2 and 12 weeks after you have quit smoking, you should notice that any circulation-related problems you may have had are improving. Your skin color should be much healthier as your blood flow is much more smooth than it was when you were clogging up your arteries with nicotine and all the other harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke.

Now is the perfect time to get out those sneakers and start a running or walking program.

Over the course of the first year, your lung function should improve by about 10 percent. This means you should notice an improvement in any breathing problems such as wheezing or coughing.

And it only gets better from here.

After about five years, your risk of heart attack will be reduced by about half. And after 10 years not only should your risk of heart attack be reduced to that of a person who has never smoked a day in their life, but your risk of lung cancer will also have fallen to about half of what it was when you smoked.

Congratulations!

Of course, this quit smoking timeline is only a guide. Your experience may be different, and you should always discuss any changes in your health with your own health care provider.

(Sources for this page include: nicorette.ca and Wikipedia)

1. The Nicotine Patch

The most well-known quit smoking product is the nicotine patch. It’s easy to use, and provides a steady dose of nicotine directly through the skin, without the need to complete the physical act of smoking. The idea behind the patch is that by starting with the strongest dose available and lowering it over time you will be able to wean your body off its need for the nicotine it used to get through your smoking habit.

Using the patch is not a slow process. On average it takes about 10 weeks to complete the process, according to one major manufacturer.

One of the things to watch out for if you choose to use the nicotine patch is the side effects. Some common side effects of the patch include problems sleeping, headaches, a racing heartbeat, nausea and skin irritation. These side effects vary by manufacturer, dosage, and how long you leave the patch on for.

It has been noted that there are more side effects related to the use of a 24-hour patch than there are on the lower timed patches. Even so, the patch remains one of the most popular ways to quit smoking available over the counter, without a prescription.

2. Nicotine Gum

Another popular way to quit smoking is the use of nicotine gum. Since it delivers the nicotine to your system through your mouth, the gum works much more quickly than the patches. It’s a handy aid to have available, especially if you find yourself in a situation where you have to be around other smokers.

As long as you follow the instructions in the package, nicotine gum works well, and for people with sensitive skin is much more user friendly than the patch.

Another reason some people prefer the gum is that you can control the amount of nicotine you get with each piece, rather than having it fed continuously into your system through the skin.

Although you can chew the gum on an “as needed” basis (up to 20 pieces per day), a recent study suggests that it may be more effective if you set up a schedule and use it only at certain times of the day.

As with the patches, the idea of nicotine gum is to wean yourself off of the nicotine with slowly lowering doses. By the end of three months you should be completely nicotine free with this quit smoking aid.

3. Nicotine Inhalers

The new kid on the block when it comes to ways to quit smoking is the nicotine inhaler. This is what I used to help me quit, and I found it extremely effective.

The nicotine inhaler addresses a second issue in addition to the addiction to nicotine that other replacement aids deal with. When you use a nicotine inhaler, you are actually mimicking the action of smoking. For me, this was the key. I could live without the nicotine itself … I didn’t know what to do with my hands when I didn’t have a cigarette in them.

Similarly to the patch and the gum, the goal of a nicotine inhaler is to wean you off of the need for nicotine. You will start with a strong dose and gradually work your way to smaller doses until your body no longer requires any nicotine.

4. Hypnosis

Hypnosis is another popular way to help yourself stop smoking. It can either involve visiting a trained hypnotist to be put into a trance, or you can do self-hypnosis with the aid of a CD.

There are a lot of arguments for and against using hypnosis as a way to quit smoking. Many people believe that it doesn’t really work, in and of itself, and that it only works because the patient believes in his/her own mind that it will work.

This may be its biggest advantage when it comes to successfully quitting smoking. With the popularity of movies such as The Secret, we are learning more and more about the power of our own minds. If we believe that hypnosis can help us to change our mind and stop smoking, without the need for nicotine replacement aids such as the patch, gum or inhaler, who’s to say that it’s not the right choice.

Quitting smoking is a personal decision, and the use of a quit smoking aid is just as personal. What works for you will be different than what worked for me because our reasons for smoking, as well as our bodies, are different. These are some of the most popular ways to quit smoking, and should give you an idea of what you can do when you are ready to take that step.

The health risks associated with smoking include lung cancer, heart attacks and coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, stroke, mouth cancer, throat cancer, and even erectile dysfunction in men. For many people, just thinking about all of these health risks is enough to make them decide to quit smoking, or not even start in the first place.

Besides all the risks to your health, another of the harmful effects of smoking that is not talked about a lot is the damage that smoking can do to your relationships with family and friends. For example, you can do a lot of damage to your relationship with your children when you smoke.

For example, when I was a smoker, I was always saying things like “It’s my body, I’ll smoke if I want to” when my son would ask me not to smoke. After I had my first heart attack, I realized how selfish that was of me, and I could have left him an orphan. I’m not sure he’s forgiven me for that yet, even though I have been smoke-free for almost six years now.

You can also do physical damage to others with your second-hand smoke. In fact, experts have found that exposure to second-hand smoke can cause the same health risks to non-smokers as the act itself does in smokers.

One report released by the U.S. Surgeon General in 2006 even noted that the harmful effects of smoking can include death from SIDS. The report stated that there is enough evidence “to infer a causal relationship between exposure to secondhand smoke and sudden infant death syndrome.”

Unfortunately, too many people decide to pay attention to these effects when it’s too late and serious health conditions are already a reality for either them or their loved ones. Even when smokers know what damage they are doing to themselves and others, it’s hard to make that decision to quit.

There is some good news though. When you make the decision and actually do give up smoking, you can reverse some of the damage done to your body. If you have given up the habit before the harmful effects of smoking have done serious damage, you should start seeing some improvement in as little as twenty-four hours. And, if you can stay quit then by the time 15 years have passed, your body should be as healthy as that of a person who has never smoked.

Recognizing the harmful effects of smoking on both your own body and mind, and on your environment often plays an important role in making the decision to quit smoking. Making the decision is only the first step. Actually physically quitting will go a long way to reversing these effects and putting you on the path toward better health.

1. Giving up smoking clears your senses.

Imagine actually being able to smell things again. To take a deep breath and know that what you are smelling is the true smell of fresh air, or flowers, or bread baking. Whatever your favorite smells are, they will smell much better when you quit smoking.

The real difference once you quit smoking is that you will suddenly realize just how bad cigarette smoke smells. I can’t stand to be around anyone who smokes now because just the smell of it makes me nauseous.

Your sense of taste will change too. You will be amazed at how much better your food tastes once your tongue is no longer coated in a film of nicotine. For me, one of the biggest benefits of quitting smoking was that I no longer had to coat my food in salt just to be able to taste it.

2. You will smell much better too!

Yes, shallow as it may seem, you will smell so much better once you quit smoking. Your home, your clothes, your skin, your hair… everything will smell better once it is no longer covered in a film of smoke.

Make sure you give your walls and floors a good cleaning when you quit. If you’ve smoked for a long time, you will really notice a difference in how clean things will smell when you’re done. And everyone around you will notice the difference too.

3. Your health and quality of life will improve.

There are so many health benefits of quitting smoking, I almost don’t know where to start. According to health experts, you can begin to see an improvement in your health in as few as 20 minutes after you have your last cigarette.

It’s common knowledge that quitting smoking lowers the risk for such chronic diseases as high blood pressure, certain types of cancers, heart disease, and stroke.

You will also feel like you have more energy. I didn’t realize how tired I was all the time until I stopped smoking and didn’t need to have a three-hour nap every afternoon.

4. You will save money.

I left this one to last, not because it isn’t as important as the health benefits of quitting smoking, but because for many people it is the single most important reason why they quit.

The financial cost of smoking can take up a serious chunk of your monthly budget. Many times, you won’t realize just how much you were spending on cigarettes every month until you stop.

Quitting smoking will have a major impact on your budget. If you are a pack-a-day smoker, at five dollars a pack you will free up over $1800 a year just by not smoking. And that’s if you only smoke one pack a a day. When I quit I was doing almost three packs a day and cigarettes here were $7 a pack at the time. (I have no idea what they cost now so I’ll leave the math of your situation to you.)

Only you can decide which benefits of quitting smoking are the ones which will motivate you. You might even think of other benefits that apply in your life that I haven’t thought of. Whichever benefits you decide to focus on, keep them at the forefront of your mind while you are quitting. Having a clear vision of what your life will be like after smoking is a great help in keeping at it when the going gets tough.

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That being said, there are ways to make quitting easier on yourself. The first thing you will want to do is make sure you have a plan in place for giving up smoking. Set your goals, decide on the best way and the best tools for you to use, pick your quit date, and get started.

There are many different ways to quit smoking, and many different stop smoking aids you can try to make it easier on yourself. One of the things you can do at the beginning of your quit process is to check out some of these aids and see if they will work for you. Many times it’s just a matter of finding the right fit between you and the tool that will make your quitting that much easier.

Mindset is another important factor in giving up smoking. When you pick your quit date, it helps to see it as a new beginning and something to be excited about. Focusing on the negative aspects of quitting such as the nicotine withdrawal, and how stressed out you will be wanting that cigarette will not help you to be successful.

Instead, choosing your quit date gives you a chance to be prepared so that you have a chance to get excited about your new start on life. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” When you quit smoking that day really is the first day of the rest of your life. I can’t even begin to tell you in one short post how much different your life will be after you quit smoking.

One final thing to be aware of is that you may have to avoid some friends and family while you are actively working at giving up smoking. Some people will not want to see you change — that’s just human nature — and will react negatively toward your decision to quit. It’s much easier to quit if you have supportive and positive people around you while you’re going through the process. If your friends and family are not willing to provide that support, you can find a support group in your local area, or even join a forum online where you can go when you need a shot of encouragement.

By giving up smoking, you are taking active control in making your life better, both physically and mentally. Having a plan with clear goals and objectives when you start the process will make it that much easier for you to be successful.