If you are thinking of quitting smoking with the idea you will cut down first, then I have a few important factors you should consider before undertaking this method.

In this article we will discuss how this method simply does not work, and is actually one of the worst possible things you can do. I'll talk about how this actually ends up giving the cigarette the control, and not you. I'll explain how using this method, you will almost certainly go back to smoking full time.

At the conclusion of this article you will be able to see how difficult, damaging and ineffective this method is.

The idea of cutting down involves someone reducing the amount of cigarettes they smoke each day. This is done usually because the person doing the cutting down wants to prepare themselves for quitting smoking in the near future.

On the surface this makes sense, but when you take a closer look at it, it is doomed to fail.

I know many people who have tried this method and none have succeeded (including me). In some cases the person has managed to cut down for a few days, others a few weeks but in every case the person has eventually gone back to their regular smoking habit.

Let's look at the reasons why.

Cutting down keeps smoking on the brain for longer time periods. Normally when the nicotine craving hits, the problem is fixed by having a cigarette. Because the person is cutting down they wait to have one. During this waiting period what do you think is going on in their mind?

"CIGARETTE, CIGARETTE, I WANT A CIGARETTE", is the answer.

When the craving gets too strong it can have total control over the thoughts which can lead to problems at work, with family or in other areas of life. When trying to quit the idea is to reduce the amount of time someone thinks about smoking, not increase it.

Because the person is still actually smoking, temptation is always within reach. Whether the pack is sitting in their pocket, staring at them from their desktop, or being offered by a friend, the temptation is always there. It is only a matter of time until that temptation becomes too strong. Even though they didn't plan on smoking for another hour, they give in, "just this once."

Before long "just this once" has turned into ten times, and before they know it they are back to their old habit. Temptation will always win when it is there all day, every day.

By waiting to have a cigarette, it makes it into a rewarding and even more satisfying experience. The cigarette is now no longer an ordinary cigarette, but instead some wonderful, magical reward for the suffering the person has been though.

When someone wants to quit smoking, making a cigarette into a rewarding and satisfying experience is the last thing they should do.

Many people think cutting down gives them control over their smoking. This is simply not the case, because delaying smoking is giving cigarettes the power, not the other way around.

The only way to have control over smoking is to put the cigarettes down, for good. Then and only then will they be in control.