Most people wrongly think that it is only narcotic drugs that are addictive. This is a very wrong notion indeed. Nicotine too is as addictive as any narcotic. Once you get used to it, it is not going to be easy to break away from it.

Here is where the problem lies: addiction. The sad thing is that most people don't realize this. They puff away on their cigarettes and attach a lot of definitions to it. I have taken care to include some of the most popular excuses that people attach to their habit of smoking.

EXCUSE #1 - It relieves stress

It really doesn't. Your body and mind are capable of handling a lot of stress and you do not need any alkaloid to lend external support. The fact is that once your brain is addicted to nicotine, it kind of weakens and becomes unable to handle problems. The result is that you get stressed up very fast and your brain starts demanding its doze of nicotine. When you puff away, you give it the nicotine and you feel as if your stress is relieved.

EXCUSE #2 - It drives away sleep

Sleep is a natural response of the body. Our body needs rest and it has the right to demand this rest from time to time. When you take a puff, the alkaloids go straight to your brain and interfere with the working thus confusing the brain. You might be able to ward off sleep but you are in fact interfering with the functioning of your brain, which is indeed playing with fire.

EXCUSE #3 - It perks me up

Maybe, but isn't that a kind of external perk? Isn't that another way of saying, I am unable to keep in high spirits by myself so I need to depend on cigarettes? Hey, look at all those little children, they are always in the highest of spirits and they do not need any alkaloids for that. You should lessen the burdens on your shoulders and take life as it comes.

An Unfair Battle

Let's take a moment to ponder over our bodies. They are such remarkable things. Just think of all those activities that are going on so harmoniously inside our bodies. Most of these activities and functions go on with out our own knowledge. It's almost like a well oiled machine.

And think of the count less number of times when you have fallen ill and how this remarkable body has fought back and won the battle. Forget about giving credit to it. None of us do that. But the least we can do is lend it a helping hand.

The world we are living is horribly polluted. And as it is the body has a colossal task of fighting off all those toxins. And here we are pulling in loads and loads of toxic smoke as many times a day as possible. The body will pull on as long as it can, and in the end, one fine day it will put its foot down and sayenough is enough, go ahead cough up and die,? and really we cannot blame it at that time.

The battle is already unfair, so the least we can do is help by not consciously contributing our own share of toxins to this body that is already waging a fierce battle in this polluted world.

I guess we have said enough about smoking, now let's talk about what we really intended to talk about and that is how to stop smoking. But before we proceed any further, I want to give you a word of caution. It's not going to be easy. This is an exercise that will put your nerves, your muscles and every cell in your body to the utmost level of endurance. But in the when you triumph, you will realize that it was worth it.

After all, it is a matter of life and death. And believe me you can do it once you make up your mind. I can tell you that with all the authority in the world because right now you are being addressed by a person who quit being a chain smoker and is now a total non smoker. That's right, me!