Metzler

I want to explain the reasons why I am such a big fan of people who quit smoking cold turkey. It is not because they are heroes, able to overcome the evils of nicotine and tobacco without help, it is because it is the best way to quit smoking.

Statistical evidence from both Australia and the United states indicates that of all the smokers who have ever quit smoking, over 85% of them have done so successfully by using the quit smoking cold turkey method.

For all of the magic pills and potions available out there, it seems they account for only 15% of all the successful long term quits. This may seem strange given that the quit smoking cold turkey method boasts such a low success rate when compared to the other solutions.

Nicotine replacement therapy allegedly boasts a doubling of success rates in quitting smoking. Zyban apparently trebles the rate and chantix apparently quadruples the rate. Whilst this looks like great news for smokers, it hides a dirty little secret. These methods are successful in the short term, but in the longer term, there is growing opinion based on statistical evidence that these ex-smokers fall back into a life of cigarettes more easily than cold turkeys!

Just a side note here - the company that manufactures Chantix, Pfizer, claims a 44% success rate but it is clear that this is not the case as independent analysis of their data and independent research proves the research was heavily biased in favour of the drug!

My argument here is not that these methods don't increase your chances of success, my point is that long term success is more important than short term success. To quit smoking cold turkey gives you a better chance of long term success than using chemical intervention.

If I told you that you could have $10,000 now and never again or $100 every month for the rest of your life, I hope you would take the latter option.

When we choose to quit smoking cold turkey, we are taking the boring, un-flamboyant but ultimately successful approach as opposed to the glamorous, substance-less short term glory of pills and potions.

At this point you might be thinking well, I'd rather have a better chance in the short term in the hope that you can achieve long term success. You might be thinking that NRT and zyban and chantix offer this to you, but they don't.

To quit smoking cold turkey merely means to not use any chemical interventions such as NRT, zyban, chantix, hypnosis, acupuncture, nicocure, laser therapy, herbal remedies or whatever other miracle cure is being offered at the moment. When you chose to quit smoking cold turkey, you should not do it using brute will power, you should do it using your positive attitude and a whole lot of education about how to quit smoking.

Here is the thing - most people when they think of the quit smoking cold turkey method think it means just stopping smoking - it doesn't. Get yourself educated and learn how to quit smoking before you do it - the success rate for people who quit smoking like this is in excess of 40%. Sure there is a ton of information out there about eating healthily, setting a quit date and all that other stuff about making quitting smoking a big deal. In my opinion it is rubbish simply BECAUSE it makes quitting smoking a big deal

The bigger a deal you make out of quitting smoking, the harder it gets. Buying a can of soup is easy and it isn't a big deal and there aren't support forums littered over the internet for buying cans of soup. Quitting smoking should be treated the same. Learn how to do and then get on with doing it and forget about it. You weren't born a smoker so you sure as hell can return to being a non-smoker.

Whilst I clearly condone education as the best method to quit smoking cold turkey, if you must, try the other methods and remember, any method is only successful if it is 100% successful to you. Good luck and never stop trying to quit.

Would you like to learn how to quit smoking before you try to quit smoking? Pete Howells is the author of the EasyQuit System available only online at http://easyquitsystem.com He also blogs, post articles and videos at http://easyquitsystem.com/blog