If you are a smoker, then quitting is the single most beneficial action you can take to improve your overall health and reduce future health risks. Not only for yourself, but for those around you as well.

The great news is that you will experience significant health benefits within 20 minutes from the moment that you quit, and they will continue to pay out over time. Now, having said all of that, let me give you the bad news: Quitting isn't easy. In fact, kicking the nicotine and smoking habit was, without question, one of the hardest things I ever did.

Why do I stress this? Because you need to know that you will be in for a very tough fight, and if you don't have realistic expections about what you will go through when you quit, you will likely not succeed.

More good news. In addition to the immediate health benefits, you will feel like less of a social pariah. The days of standing under the eaves of a "non-smoking" building in inclement weather, while the non-smokers walked by and sniffed, are over. You will no longer smell toxic, and you will look better too. No more nicotine-stained hands and grey skin. As far as weight gain, I put on exactly 8 pounds- no more. Enough said, I think you get it.

Like most stupid things I did in my life, I was old enough to know better when I started smoking. I took my first drag at 17 and I was immediately hooked. It wasn't long before I was a 2-packer; Lighting up was the first thing I did in the morning and the last thing I did at night. I found myself not attending functions because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to smoke at them, and choosing friends because they smoked, not necessarily because I liked them. And so it went.

As far as quitting, I was definitely not one of those enviable persons who 'just decided they didn't want to smoke any more and just quit.' No, I was the one whose smoking addiction had claw marks all over it because I could not let go. But, finally, after a fifteen year run, a serious bout of chronic bronchitis, and a warning from my doctor that the next step was a permanent oxygen tank, I finally managed to quit. It wasn't graceful. It wasn't pretty, but I did it. Now, let me give you some of my smoking solutions.

Carry a printed version of the American Lung Association's health benefits check list (included below) with you everywhere. When you are completely overwhelmed with cravings, pull the list out to remind yourself again why you are quitting.

Unlike, the concept of "forever," the time lines on the list are achievable goals. Eight hours is much more palatable than forever. Once I reached a goal I would look at that item over and over again, knowing that I had done something really significant for myself.

Looking at the list also served to remind me of what I would be giving up if I started smoking again. Make no mistake, smoking is B-A-D for you, so the health benefits were one of the "paychecks," so to speak. Every smoker, whether they admit it or not, lives with the nagging threat of the "Big C," and for good reason, but did you know that more people die of heart health issues due to smoking than lung cancer? In any case, one thing is for sure: Smoking kills. Statistically, more than half of long-term smokers will die from a smoking-related death

At 20 minutes after quitting:

• blood pressure decreases
  

• pulse rate drops
  

• body temperature of hands and feet increases
  

At 8 hours:

• carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal
  

• oxygen level in blood increases to normal
  

At 24 hours:

• chance of a heart attack decreases
  

At 48 hours:

• nerve endings start regrowing
  

• ability to smell and taste is enhanced
  

The first year after quitting:

At 2 weeks to 3 months:

• circulation improves
  

• walking becomes easier
  

• lung function increases
  

1 to 9 months:

• coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decreases
  

1 year:

• excess risk of coronary heart disease is decreased to half that of a smoker
  

Long-term Benefits of Quitting

At 5 years:

• from 5 to 15 years after quitting, stroke risk is reduced to that of people who have never smoked.
  

At 10 years:

• risk of lung cancer drops to as little as one-half that of continuing smokers
  

• risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases
  

• risk of ulcer decreases
  

At 15 years:

• risk of coronary heart disease is now similar to that of people who have never smoked
  

• risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked

This timetable is from the American Lung Association's website.

I told everyone on the planet that I was trying to quit, and the amazing thing that came from that was I built a support group made up of the most surprising individuals.

Usually when someone tries to quit, they will receive enormous support from loved ones, but because of the fact that I told everyone: co-workers, neighbors, vendors, you name it, I not only had family members checking in on me, I had tons of people asking me how it was going and helping me through the tough times. It got to the point that sometimes the only thing that kept me from torching up was that I didn't want to have to tell all of those people that "we" had failed.

You will be surprised how many people will really pull for you . In fact, I can't think of anyone who was not supportive, sympathetic/empathetic and encouraging: ex-smokers, never-smokers, current smokers, you name it, and they were all hugely instrumental in my success.

Use what works for you. I used nicotine patches.

By the time I finally quit, I had tried every quitting aid there was - gum, shots, hypnosis, accupuncture, you name it, and they never worked for me because once it, or the nicotine, wore off, I was essentially back to going cold-turkey.

In lieu of that, the patches are designed to gradually step you down from the amount of nicotine your physical addiction demands, making the withdrawal process a lot less painful - and I do mean a lot.

I'm going to warn you, you're going to get the purists who believe you should be able to quit without any crutches, and maybe you can. Not me, and at that point, I was ready to do whatever I had to do to get through those first weeks, whether it was clumsy or not, and, truthfully, I give a lot of credit to my ultimate success to the patches.

A lot of people are afraid of the irritable, Jekyll-Hyde that they become. I personally vascillated between being a candidate for a correctional facility and a mental institution. I hated everybody and everything, and I resented the fact that I could not smoke. I really resented the loved ones who put so much pressure on me to quit, and wouldn't let me off the hook when I tried. The good news is that all of those relationships survived the ordeal. They knew I did not want to be a jerk (although at various times different people would offer to buy me a pack of cigarettes) they just waited for me to turn back into myself.

Divide and Conquer the Two Halves of the Addiction.

There are two halves of the addiction: The physical addiction and the Nicotine addiction. Now, when I say I didn't quit gracefully.

This next tip is exactly what I'm talking about. I made myself a fake cigarette by pulling a filter off of a real cigarette. Next, I cut a piece of paper to about the size of the body of a cigarette then I stuffed the thing with cotton and taped it the filter. The thing really looked and felt like a real cigarette. I dragged on that thing morning, noon, and night. Look, I was already kicking nicotine, and I just couldn't do the physical addiction at the same time.  Of course now they have electronic cigarettes (pictured to the right) which look like they would work great.  Whatever works, just make sure you've got something to hold like a cigarette.

Stupid? Maybe, but it helped me go on to fight the next craving. The nice thing was that about three weeks after I quit, and most of the nicotine cravings had become manageable, this part of the habit just fell kind've fell away by itself.

Of course now they have electronic cigarettes which is another possibilty. Whatever works, just make sure you've got something to hold like a cigarette.

Pick a start date in the future, like a few months out, but before you reach your start date, start "practicing." Every time you can, try.

By the time I quit, I had actually put days together at a time. I used all of my tricks during these "trial runs," but I didn't put any pressure on myself to quit. I was simply just practicing. The great thing that happened with this is that my nicotine consumption went way down, and when I finally got to my quit date, I had all kinds of experience with fighting cravings.

If you make a mistake, do not give up. You will not unlearn everything you have learned. Remember, you are fighting for your life. If you really mess up and go back to smoking completely - then try again when you can. Every time you have the strength to fight the monster, do! Remember what I said: Statistically, the odds of success increase with every attempt to quit.

If you are planning to quit, your partner, if they are also a smoker, is going to get caught up in wanting to support you, and wanting to do something good for themselves too. 

Trust me on this - either wait until they get a month, or two, under their belt, or you do, but don't try it at the same time.

Quitting is stressful, and you are going to have times where you are going to be very irritable. If you are both snapping at each other, and fighting, one of you is going to decide that it isn't worth it, and most likely it won't be long before the other follows suit. So, for me, this is a no-brainer.

This is the easiest tip to abide by, and one of the most important to follow.

I also carried with me the knowlege that the cravings would get shorter in length, and the length of time between them would increase with every craving.

In the beginning it was by maybe a second, but it didn't take long before it was minutes between cravings. Go ahead. Time it. It works!

Every time I was overwhelmed with a craving, I would say to myself, "This will end soon - whether I smoke or not ." Sometimes it would be exhausting fighting off the cravings, but the more I leaned into them, the more accepting I became that they were part of the deal, the easier it was. I just repeated my mantra everytime. "This will end, this will end, this will end."

It always did. Every time.

I applaud you for even thinking about quitting.

Maybe some of my tricks will be helpful to you, maybe not. I invite you to take what you can use and throw the rest away. If my suggestions aren't helpful, then don't give up looking for what will work. Keep looking until you find something that works for you. There are tons of web sites out there, in addition to on-line smoking forums. If you are more of a in-person-kind-of-person, most medical clinics have smoking support groups.

The help you need is out there, you just need to look. Good luck!