The Easy Way to Stop Smoking summary

People typically think that you’ll lose the desire to smoke if you can go long enough without a cigarette, and that once you lose the desire, you’ll have successfully quit. But this only turns quitting into a sacrifice, making it far more difficult than it has to be.

When we try to quit smoking through sheer willpower, we feel we’re giving up something. But instead of reminding yourself that you’re not allowed a cigarette, you shouldn’t want one in the first place.

Smoking is not just a habit – habits are relatively easy to change. It is an addiction to nicotine. But by understanding the mechanisms behind this addiction, you’ll take your first steps toward quitting.

Nicotine is not only an extremely addictive drug, but a powerful poison. The nicotine you inhale while smoking one cigarette could kill you if it was injected directly into a vein.

What do you associate with smoking? Relaxation? Socializing? Despite what you might think, relaxation and stress-relief are not the positive influences of smoking. They are only the result of us being addicted, and relieving our craving.

Many of us consider our lives stressful, and this seems reason enough to indulge in a bad habit that’ll help us relax. But most of the stress that smokers experience is caused by the pangs of nicotine withdrawal. Smoking a cigarette will reduce this stress, but non-smokers won’t experience this stress to begin with.

If you’re thinking about quitting but haven’t yet taken the plunge, it’s probably because you’re waiting for the right time to come along. But when is the right time to quit? When you’re less stressed? When you’ve got less to worry about?

The truth is that there is no right time. The best time to quit is right now, after reading this, if you’re willing and convinced. Timing is not important, as quitting is possible at any time if you go about it the right way.

When it comes down to it, smoking is a drug addiction. You can’t quit without experiencing a withdrawal period of about 30 days, while the nicotine slowly leaves your body. But this period is nothing to fear. In fact, fearing withdrawal is just another obstacle to quitting.

Nicotine replacement therapy follows the idea that you have to fight two things: the habit of smoking and the withdrawal pangs of nicotine. But smoking isn’t actually a habit; it’s just an addiction.