You have to be mentally ready, before you stop smoking. If you are not ready, it will be waste of energy and time to try.

One thing is the mentally part; another is the nicotine withdrawal symptoms. So it might be a good idea to prepare yourself for this part as well.

Willpower alone will often not do it. You will probably need a little help too. You can find a lot of products that will remove the worst urge to smoke. Those products (like e.g. from Nicorette and Nicotinell) dampen the nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

Nicotine plaster and nicotine chewing gum are the two most popular nicotine products. Other options are nicotine inhaler, nicotine nasal spray and nicotine tablets.

Many of the cigarettes you smoke is probably more a matter of habit than a desire. The cigarette after lunch or at the bus stops; is it because you want a cigarette? Or has it just become a (bad) habit that you do not think about?

Look critically at your smoking situations. Then you will be able to reduce your cigarette consumption significantly. This way you can take deliberated choice, when you decide to light a cigarette.

What do you dream about? Can you afford it? If not, you might if you can spend your money there instead of on cigarettes.

Reward yourself (or the family) with nice presents, when you haven’t smoked for a week. And do the same again after a month and a year; then you will have the motivation to keep fighting, when it gets tough.

A good way to make the reward present is piggy bank. Every day without smoking you put the amount you normally would have used for cigarettes in the quit smoking piggy bank. Then you can see how much money you save. And after a few month there is probably enough for a nice vacation.

Another great preparation before you quit smoking might be to write down your thoughts about your future smoking cessation project. Write your reasons to quit smoking, what you think will be the hardest etc.

Then you can find encouragement and new motivation in the writings, when the crisis hits you; and sooner or later it will. A quit smoking diary might also be a good idea. Here you can confess all your ups and downs in complete confidence.

Martin Elmer is the editor of Rygeafvaenning. Here you can also read about Rygestop hypnose.