Recognize your habit and your addiction. There are two basic reasons for smoking: nicotine addiction and pleasure. Paying more attention to when you smoke and what makes you light up can help you develop strategies for quitting.

Build your motivation to quit. List the pros and cons of smoking and quitting and write down your top five reasons for quitting.

Develop a quitting plan. Would you rather go it alone or with a group? Would quitting cold turkey be preferable to gradually reducing your nicotine intake? Do you want to use medications to boost your efforts?

Set a quit date.

Quit. Get rid of all of the cigarettes, ashtrays, matches and lighters in the house. Keep your top five quitting reasons with you and refer to them when you crave a cigarette.

Maintain your program for the first two weeks. The cravings will subside and you will begin to feel better in a few days, though irritability, nervousness, sleep problems, difficulty concentrating and coughing may last for a few weeks.

Survive the first six months. The physical addiction subsides after a week or two, but psychological cues can still give you the urge to light up.