It is very difficult to stop smoking. Yet millions of people have done just that. The route to stopping smoking is different than anything else we do.That's why Most smokers that want to quit try and fail at least four times before succeeding. Many smokers fail twelve or more times before finally kicking the habit. We have all heard the reports of former heroin addicts saying that stopping smoking was more difficult than quitting heroin. I don’t know if this is true or just bull but I do know that some very smart and disciplined people have had their butt kicked ,often repeatedly, by tobacco addiction. I like to think that I am smart and disciplined but I have made major rearrangements to my life in an attempt to stop smoking several times.Thay's why I have failed repeatedly. I have attended some of the best universities in the United States and studied the health statistics about smoking. The evidence of detrimental health effects is so overwhelming that even the Marlboro Cowboy has conceded that smoking causes premature death . So is there hope for us smokers? This is where it gets interesting. Studies have shown that each successive time you try to quit the probability of success increases. Success rates at the first attempt at quitting may only be 5% but success rate at the fifth serious attempt approaches 50% . So the moral is quite clear, keep trying, keep trying, and you will be able to stop.