If it has come to crunch time and you have made the decision that you are going to give up smoking for good - then don't give up, stick with it! Willpower and motivation is half the battle when it comes to being a non smoker.

When it comes to giving up cigarettes you are probably thinking that you need a trip to the pharmacy for some stop smoking aids. You are probably worried about the cost of these nicotine replacement aids as the gums and patches available on the market are quite expensive. It is estimated that the total cost per year on stop smoking aids is 1 million dollars. However despite the number of costly aids that are available there are still many people that have tried to give up the habit but are still smoking upwards of 20 a day. It is true that this is largely down to nicotine and the hold it has on you but a lot of it is also down to habit it has an emotional hold on you as well as the physical addiction.

If you have ever paid attention to the times you smoke you will notice a pattern - Most people light up when they are stressed or bored, or when they have finished eaten. This has a minimal amount to do with actually needing more nicotine and more to do with the fact that you are used to smoking in these times. It is a force of habit and what you need to do is break this pattern in order to give yourself a high chance at being a successful quitter.

For a majority of people, smoking a cigarette is something they do when they are unoccupied and need to do something with their hands. One great way of fighting against this is to keep busy, next time you feel yourself wanting to reach of a cigarette, do something else instead - knitting, painting or something else you enjoy in order to take your mind off of wanting to smoke. When you feel a craving try breathing slowly for two minutes. More often than not even the worst of cravings rarely last longer than 2 minutes.

Once you have taken the wise decision to stop smoking smoke your last cigarette and then throw the rest of them away. Any remaining cigarettes within your reach will be too much of a temptation for you. You can also try taking sips of water or a healthy snack to manage cravings.

You are the secret to your own success in being a non smoker for life. You need to concentrate on both your nicotine dependence and the power of habit as both of these together give you the temptation to fall off the wagon and pick up a cigarette. If you can take both of these things on board, you can beat your addiction much easier than you would have thought possible. Good luck!