Smoking kills millions of people every year. It causes a dozen different kinds of cancer, leads to heart disease, hardening of the arteries, poor circulation, strokes, emphysema, the list goes on and on. People that are ready to kick the habit and get healthy may find themselves asking the question "How long does it take to quit smoking?"
The answer to that question will be different for everyone and the honest answer to that question is anywhere from instantly to infinity. What I mean by that is if you're able to stop cold turkey and never smoke again, you have effectively quit the instant you made the decision to do so. However, some people are never able to quit. Some people will stop smoking for a few days, a few weeks, maybe even months or more and then relapse.
Many people try to quit by going cold turkey, or just stopping and trying to never smoke again. This method is extremely difficult and has a 95% failure rate. Smoking is both a physical and a psychological addiction. You become physically addicted to nicotine and when you try to quit your body will go through withdrawal symptoms, which can be pretty severe. Smoking is also an oral fixation and a psychological addiction. Many people are as addicted to the act of smoking as they are to the nicotine itself.
To try to get past the oral fixation you could try to chew gum or eat sunflower seeds whenever you get the urge to smoke a cigarette. To overcome the physical addiction to nicotine, many people will use nicotine replacement therapies such as chewing nicotine gum or use of "the patch". The idea behind nicotine replacement therapy is to slowly wean yourself off of nicotine over time. By reducing the amount of nicotine you ingest slowly, over a period of time, it makes it easier to cope with the withdrawal symptoms. This method of quitting may take several months.
Other methods to stop smoking may be faster but also have varying degrees of success. Some people use hypnosis and after a few visits they are able to remain smoke-free. Other people will use acupuncture or laser therapy and be able to quit smoking after just a few treatments. However, no method of quitting works for 100% of the people 100% of the time.
You may have to try a number of different methods before you're able to successfully put your smoking days behind you. Quitting is not easy but it is one of the most important things you can do to improve your health and your long term quality of life. If you have been unsuccessful with one particular method, don't give up, try another method and do whatever it takes to stop smoking.
