There is absolutely no question that smoking is a really unhealthy thing to do. There is a huge amount of medical evidence that smoking causes both lung cancer and macular degeneration. So, if you want to go blind and stop breathing keep on lighting up the cigarettes. Bottom line here is that if you smoke, the smartest thing you can do is stop. There are literally hundreds of chemicals in cigarettes and most of them are harmful. In fact, the focus on tar and nicotine is a "smoke" screen to keep you from understanding the really harmful contents of cigarettes. Cigarettes are known to be linked to problems including heart disease, strokes, emphysema, cancer, dementia, pain in the legs, frequent illness, and even brain dysfunction. From a Chinese Medicine point of view smoking means you are guaranteed to have a severe energy deficiency in the lung meridian and that means you will not produce the energy you need on a daily basis and you will be far more vulnerable to infections like colds and flu… and if you are a woman you will pass this energetic weakness on to any children that you have.

To quit smoking you've got to deal with the non-conscious habits

So what can you do about it? Most of the articles about quitting start by saying something like, "You can kick the habit, but you've got to want to do it."  And somehow, that often doesn't seem to get the job done, does it? Here's the deal… the battle to quit really happens in the non-conscious parts of the mind because that's where habits hang out. Granted, there is a physical addiction to nicotine, but that can be effectively dealt with. So the real struggle is the urge to light up that cigarette right after a meal or some other more entertaining activity. Make the connection to The Master Key System Course. In the first few lessons, this course teaches that you manifest the things you want in life through the Law of Attraction. You'll find a lot of references to the Law of Attraction, but The Master Key Course really has the best training on how to make this happen in your life. Essentially, the idea is that it is the non-conscious mind where things like stopping smoking really take place. The conscious mind really just points the direction for the non-conscious mind and its best tool is the power of visualization. So, the first step is that you've got to really see yourself as a non-smoker. Mentally put yourself in the situations where you love to smoke and visualize yourself as not smoking. This is a 24 week course, but it will not only help you to stop smoking; it will change your life.

Nicotine patches, nicotine gum, and nicotine sprays… plus niacinamide

There are actually three challenges to stopping smoking… the physical addiction to nicotine… the psychological need to smoke… and the habits connected to smoking. The Master Key System approach helps to deal with the last two. The physical addition to nicotine can be effectively dealt with in several ways. First, you can try taking nicinamide. You can get that at any vitamin store. Niacinamide has chemical properties somewhat similar to nicotine and can help to reduce nicotine cravings. Another alternative is to use nicotine patches, gums, and/or sprays… and if you choose this route be sure to follow the instructions on how to gradually reduce the amount of nicotine that enters your body. Many people have found that the combination of the nicotine substitutes and niacinamide beats the addiction. One word of caution, though, if you a pregnant or breast feeding check with your doctor before using any nicotine replacement product.

Acupuncture for smoking

You may also find that acupuncture is useful to help to quit smoking. There are really two things that acupuncture can do. It can revitalize the energy in the lung meridian, and that will counteract some of the negative effects of smoking. Second, there are acupoints that are extremely effective in dealing with addictions, in general. These points are routinely used by the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) trained acupuncturists and have been proven to be extremely effective with the most severe addictions. The NADA technique both calms you down and reinforces critical organs in the body… oh yes, there are also specific acupuncture protocols for smoking itself.

Hypnosis and "miracle" cures

Hypnosis does, in fact, work for many people who want to quit smoking… but you must be cautious about the person that you go to for hypnosis. Be certain that they are a certified hypnotherapist because, frankly, there are a lot a crackpots out there offering miracle smoking cures… and the general consensus is that the miracle "stop smoking in one hour" type of programs are pretty ineffective.

Remember, you can choose to quit and you can quit.