Quitting smoking has never been an easy task and so most smokers who decide to quit often follow certain various guides or programs. These guides do not guarantee that a smoker will successfully quit smoking, but yes, the success rate often increases. A study conducted by Science Magazine reported that it takes an average smoker about five to six false attempts to finally move down the righteous path of a smoke free life. Another study reported that to efficiently quit smoking, mental preparation is a must and simply quitting ‘cold turkey’ often leads to no where. For those of you who are planning to to kick the butt, here are some stages which you will experience and hence it is suggested that you prepare yourself in advance.

Stage 1: Smoking is life, smoking is actually cool. Why should I even bother to quit smoking? This is the stage when smokers have absolutely no intention of giving up. Smoking is a cool way of life and they have no reason to quit it.

Stage 2: This stage comes after a short period of time - usually after five to six months and this is stage when a smoker realises the health risks and other harms that are associated with smoking cigarettes. Though the smoker has not decided to quit smoking as yet, but these people are most likely to try to quit smoking within the next few months. Many are often discovering various methods to stop smoking

Stage 3: This is the root stage of the actual quitting process when the smoker is highly interested in quitting smoking. People try and concentrate with various quit smoking support groups and forums. They are taking precise steps and setting deadlines to finally quit.

Stage 4: After the dark storm, this is the silver lining stage of the cloud when the ex smoker is trying to get acquainted with this new lifestyle minus the cigarettes. This part is difficult because smokers have to cope with nicotine withdrawal and its symptoms and that takes a lot of will power to do. Nicotine Replacement Products help a lot during this stage.

Stage 5: This is the tricky stage during which a lot of smokers succumb. This is the stage when smokers feel uncomfortable without a cigarette in their hands and have strong desires to smoke that one last lethal puff. However, this urge can be controlled by various means such as NRT and other metabolism altering drugs.

So these are the usual five stages of quitting smoking which usually every smokers goes through. Knowing them can help you judge how you are going to fare when you decide to quit. This accomplished, now you as a smoker will also be able to know how much control you have over smoking and if you will finally be able to quit. By knowing the route beforehand, reaching the destination becomes easier and this applies here too. We hope you have learnt an important lesson on how to quit smoking effectively.