If you've been trying to stop smoking, you've no doubt heard of the "quit smoking paradox": smokers say they enjoy it but repeatedly try to give it up. They say they want to give up but don't seem to make any serious attempt to do so. They usually have a few stock 'reasons' for their continuing behavior, which we will look at in detail at HowIStopSmoking.com.

Yet at the same time the average long-term smoker, including those who say they enjoy it (which also included me until I managed to quit smoking over 3 years ago now), has made several failed attempts to give up. Sadly, each attempt undermines any reasons they cite for smoking in the first place, and reconfirms what to them is an addiction they cannot handle.

Increasing awareness of the true situation further compounds the stress of health, family and other pressures. And all this combines to fuel the habit. The prison walls get higher and self-esteem sinks lower.

In fact smoking gets practically harder as the years go by. For example, as the ranks of non-smokers swell, the remaining habitat of smokers gets ever smaller and more uncomfortable. The smoker's place is outside the office or hospital, in the garden, in the rain - in some 'special place', huddled together for mutual support. They find themselves squeezed out of nice places, whether by law or popular pressure. A sense of anger, desperation or guilt follows, and yet more stress. That means even greater dependence on the drug that seems to offer the only temporary relief.

All this adds to the wisdom of quitting - which was never in doubt. But it also adds to the smoker's difficulty - or perceived difficulty - in making the break. The embattled smoker now has even more pressure to contend with. And it is usually pressure of some sort that drives them to the next fix, so it can become a vicious circle of frustration and disappointment.

We take all this into account, and expose some of the common smoking myths. In many cases smokers attempting to give up make it hard on themselves by sticking to old beliefs and entertaining certain 'facts' long since disproved. This happens unknowingly, of course - not just because a person doesn't have all the up-to-date information, but because the real power of the smoking habit lies in the subconscious mind. That is why rational decisions and so-called willpower have little effect. So we address the importance of the mind in all this, and especially what goes on unconsciously.

You will learn how to identify then change the various beliefs and attitudes that control smoking behavior, in effect creating new mental programs. You will understand the difference between the addictive and habitual aspects of smoking. Each involves very different factors and each requires a different solution. We are all different anyway, and smokers have remarkably different experiences when giving up, even when they follow the same basic methods.

One thing is certain: you can multiply your chances of permanently quitting by the right information and know-how - not just about the dangers of smoking, but specifically about how to quit.

It is impractical for authors to offer guarantees, as we have no guarantee ourselves that readers will read the information carefully right through, let alone carry out what we suggest.

However, based on the best scientific and technical information we now make available, if you are willing to follow some tips to quit smoking with an open mind, you can learn how to quit smoking for good and guarantee success yourself.