Every place a smoker goes these days there is someone telling them that it is in there best health to quit smoking. Also, with many states and communities passing laws indicating where a man can light up, many have decided that it is worth the trouble to quit smoking.

A short while ago, there were very few governments who minded smoking. Frequently during that period smokers were watched on television shows and in the movies smoking their cigarettes. Despite the earliest warnings about the health hazards of cigarettes, there was no real incentive to get people to quit smoking.

When the issue of second-hand smoke dangers was initially presented those that smoked, often in the presence of children and other non-smokers, wanted more scientific proof to back that claim before they would quit smoking around others. Even with conclusive evidence of the dangers, many are still finding it hard to quit smoking.

Smoking is an addictive obsession that normally begins when a person is in their teen years or early into their 20's. It is very easy to become hooked on cigarettes but not nearly as easy to quit smoking, as people would like to think.

Addiction Is Mental And Physical

There is a physical addiction to nicotine, the main addictive drug in cigarettes that can take about a week to work out of the system. The first few days are considered the worst time when people quit smoking but after that the physical craving for nicotine diminishes. The remainder of the addiction is considered mental, although there are physical aspects to it as well.

Those who smoked, especially for a long time, find they have nothing to do with their hands, which held onto a cigarette during their smoking years. In order to reduce the mental craving some turn to eating, which is something they rarely did while they were smoking. Weight increase is a common occurrence for new non-smokers, but many believe that losing weight will be easier than when they quit smoking.

Some people surmise that just like becoming addicted to cigarettes did not happen in one session, breaking the habit will take time as well. They have a slow withdrawal plan with a target date to quit smoking. Others find various means to break the habit, such as hypnosis, laser techniques and substitutes to wean them off the addictive habits. But most agree that they need to do whatever it takes to quit smoking for their health's sake.